The inauguration of the science center in Baqa al-Gharbia is part of a broader plan by the ministry to establish science centers in six additional settlements - Ofakim, Migdal Ha'Emek, Negev Fields, Majdal Chrom, Yafi'a, Beit Shean. Baqqa al-Gharbia was chosen to be the largest city that will implement the pilot. This program joins the government's policy of giving national priority to the implementation of programs to make technological tools and technological content accessible to the members of the minorities.
The Ministry of Science, Technology and Space inaugurated today, August 26, 2013, a computerized science center in Baqa al-Gharbia for the welfare of the population. In a solemn ceremony held in the presence of the Minister of Science, Technology and Space Ya'akov Perry, the Mayor of Baka al-Gharbia, Adv. A thousand shekels.
The inauguration of the science center in Baqa al-Gharbia is part of a broader plan by the ministry to establish science centers in six additional settlements - Ofakim, Migdal Ha'Emek, Negev Fields, Majdal Chrom, Yafi'a, Beit Shean. Baqqa al-Gharbia was chosen to be the largest city that will implement the pilot. This program joins the government's policy of giving national priority to the implementation of programs to make technological tools and technological content accessible to the members of the minorities.
In recent years there has been a constant increase in the number of households that have computers and internet connection. However, still, many homes in Israel are not connected to the Internet and their hands cannot afford to purchase a computer, and as a result their access to the fields of science and technology is impaired. The centers, intended mainly for children and youth, were equipped with the best scientific equipment for teaching and experience purposes and their goal is to promote excellence, encourage challenging and experiential learning of science and expose youth to different aspects of the world of science and technology. The establishment of the centers is part of the ministry's plans to reduce the gaps between the center and the periphery in the exposure and learning of science.
"The lack of accessibility to the scientific and technological world has created a very worrying gap in academia as well, and is a direct product of the lack of access to technological tools and a culture of innovation in the Arab sector in Israel," said Minister of Science, Technology and Space Yaakov Perry. "The accessibility and availability of scientific equipment and computing are key elements that affect the digital and academic divide. The centers that will be established will make available to the population technologies and equipment for scientific experimentation that do not exist in the education system in the city and in private homes, and the ambition is that through experiential learning more young men and women will be exposed to the world of science and to the curiosity of scientific discovery."
The centers will be established within public libraries with the aim of making the information and advanced equipment available to the entire population. In the centers, the boys and girls of the youth will be exposed to study systems in the fields of robotics, technology, biology, chemistry and physics and even to systems for studying music and computerized art and studying English. The centers were equipped with interactive software, simulators, technological models and more. In addition, as part of the project, instructors will be trained to work on site.
The direct involvement of the mayor, Adv. Morsi Abu Moch, who personally supervised the execution of the project, contributed to the success of the establishment of the science center in Baka al-Gharbia. The mayor said at the ceremony, "The center will develop thinking skills among children in order to promote their success in studies in particular and in life in general. I see the utmost importance in investing in the children of Aka El Gharbia and giving them the opportunity to have a new experience. Different learning experiences from school may help them build an important infrastructure at the elementary ages to promote their success in the future, develop their existing creativity and discover a new world."
The Director General of the Authority for Economic Development of the Arab, Druze and Circassian Sector in the Prime Minister's Office Iman Seif said at the ceremony: "We attach great importance to the field of scientific literacy and see projects of this type as one of the ways that will advance the integration of the Arab population in the economy of the State of Israel."
