Mensa workshop for gifted students – September 2015

Date and venue

• Date: Friday, 11. 9.  2015 – Tuesday, 15. 9. 2015
• Venue: Olomouc District, Kozov
• Meeting point and date: Friday, 11. 9. 2015 at 10.13 a.m. at the Main Station in Olomouc
• End: Tuesday, 15. 9. 2015 at 4 p.m. at the Main Station in Olomouc

Programme

The entire programme was aimed at broadening horizons in the field of technical and natural sciences. The participants were lectured by experts, there were several competitions for teams and individuals, and they met similarly oriented students from all around the country.

• visit to the Science Centre Fortress of Knowledge in Olomouc, with a guided tour
• series of lectures “Basic principles of structural statics”
• series of lectures “Physics for advanced students”
• lecture “Successful operation of a web portal”
• series of “Home cryptography” lectures
• lecture “Mathematics - deduction of a four-dimensional cube”
• Lecture “Engineering in practice”
• Lecture on the BMW G1200RS is also engineering-related - engine, transmission, calculations, materials
• lectures “Chemistry in context”
• Lecture “Chemistry - Poisons”
• lecture “Astrophysics”
• lecture “Specialized English”
• excursion to a machine shop

Lecturers

• Prof. RNDr. Ing. Petr Štěpánek, CSc. – President of the Brno University of Technology
• Prof. RNDr. Josef Molnár, CSc. – Palacký University in Olomouc
• Doc. PaedDr. Jana Škrabánková, Ph.D. – University of Ostrava
• Ass. Prof. Ing. Zdeněk Kaplan, CSc., Brno University of Technology 
• Mgr. Lenka Šnajdrová, Ph.D. - Masaryk University in Brno
• Mgr. Jan Walla – Palacký University in Olomouc
• Mgr. Jan Tomáštík - Institute of Physics of the Czech Academy of Sciences
• Ing. Martin Chudárek – Procurement Manager of BSW Machinery s.r.o.
• Ing. Tomáš Blumenstein - Mensa CR
• and others

Participants’ feedback

Under the leadership of Tomáš Blumenstein, Hana Kalusová, and Eva Staňková, a workshop for gifted students was held from 11th to 15th September, aiming to help inquisitive people expand their education in technology, chemistry, and cryptography, as well as meet new people and experience the beautiful nature of the Haná region and Bouzov Castle.

The meeting was scheduled to begin on Friday September 11th at 10:13, in front of the main railway station in Olomouc. Individual participants arrived on time in general, and thanks to the organizers’ excellent readiness, the whole group could move on to lunch at the Bea Center in Olomouc. After lunch, there was a tour of the Fortress of Knowledge, where everyone could tease their brains with various puzzles in the Use Your Wits exhibition, or go through the Light and Dark section, which was also favoured. After the tour, there was a transfer to Valaskova Grunt, where the rest of the workshop took place. Upon arrival, a lecture on building statics was held, which was given by prof. RNDr. Ing. Petr Štěpánek, CSc., President of the Brno University of Technology. In the evening, a team competition was held to break the ice, tournaments in Abaku and Connect five started, as well as a series of lectures on Home Cryptography by Ing. Tomas Blumenstein. It is worth mentioning that every good question asked in any lecture was rewarded with sweets.

On Saturday, after 9 pm, a lecture on Chemistry in context began, in which doc. PaedDr. Jana Škrabánková, Ph.D from the University of Ostrava guided the participants with great enthusiasm through the world of Chemistry (with several short breaks, and one longer one for lunch, of course). After that, Ing. Tomáš Blumenstein commenced his second series of lectures, named Principles of Structural Statics, which was slightly confusing at first, but it turned out that statics is very interesting, at the end of the workshop. We are, however, ahead of time now. At five o’clock, a lecture was held by prof. RNDr. Josef Molnár, CSc. which was called “The four-dimensional cube”, which was easier to grasp for the participants, mainly due to the humorous way in which the professor presented his topic. During the evening, Tomáš Blumenstein presented more of his lectures on Home Cryptography and Principles of Structural Statics.

Sunday was a “trip day”. All participants, including the organizers, took a walk to Bouzov Castle. The weather was fine, and had it not been for losing the way for a while, the walk would have gone smoothly. Bouzov was very nice, some participants even managed to visit the tower, in addition to the planned tour. During a guided tour, everyone found out about the secret exit, patrol bears, and of the conveniences of the castle kitchen. After the tour, a couple of minutes’ free time was announced, after which the group set out on the journey back. At two o’clock, a lecture called “Specialized English” awaited the participants, which was presented in a popular way. Students were introduced to problems with translating texts containing names. The problem was clearly and concisely explained in a few examples, such as with the Czech name Nebelvír (Gryffindor). After the lecture, Ing. Tomáš Blumenstein took the initiative, and continued with the Principles of Building Statics and Home Cryptography series. After dinner, there were many team competitions involving, besides knowledge and good judgment, also speed and good balance.

On Monday, after breakfast, a lecture called “Machining Processes” by Ing. Martin Chudárek was followed by a lecture by Ass. Prof. Ing. Zdeněk Kaplan, CSc., from Brno University of Technology, whose introduction to engineering broadened the horizons of the listeners, especially in the automotive field. Subsequently, Mgr. Jan Tomáštík showed a vigorous presentation called “Olomouc's Astrophysics Trail”. The penultimate “performer” was Tomáš Blumenstein, who concluded his series of home cryptography lectures and principles of building statics principles, assigning to teams of participants tasks to design their own construction, and calculate its properties. After dinner, the last lecture was given by Mgr. Jan Walla of Palacký University in Olomouc, who convinced the audience in his lecture called “Poisons and Dangerous Substances” that even water can be a poison if taken in large quantities.

The last day started with a presentation of individual teams, followed by the announcement of the results, in which each team was rewarded. Of course, the best team received the most valuable reward.

After lunch, everyone packed up, and at 11:45, the entire group departed from Kozov towards Prostějov, where an excursion to the engineering production of Laser Technology s.r.o. Prostějov awaited them. All of the pros and cons of laser technology were explained, both theoretically and (mainly) practically

Upon leaving Prostějov, everyone began saying their goodbyes, which brought along the last moment of the weekend – a farewell at Olomouc Station.

Václav Houdek (20 years)
Grammar School and College Plasy

This year, thanks to this project and the financial support of the Ministry of Education, I took part in a five-day educational workshop which took place on 11-15th September at Valáškův Grunt, made from the rebuilt Kozov Chateau, in the picturesque landscape in the surroundings of Bouzov Castle.

On the first day, the programme included visit of the Fortress of Knowledge in Olomouc, and then the bus transfer to Kozov, where the first lecture and icebreaker games took place. Just before the seminar, I had another school event, so I missed this part of the programme. I only got there in the evening, or rather at night, and after the journey across half the country, I was pleasantly surprised several times. After shutting off the engine, the silence took me aback - no noise from any nearby roads. Once I found out which room everyone was in, I headed in that direction. Before entering, I was surprised by the silence once again – I heard no noises that could be expected from behind almost every classroom door. After a warm welcome and settling in among about thirty other students aged 12-19, I was immediately involved in a cipher game, which everyone was preoccupied with. This day saw assigning of the participants into teams, and contests in Abaku and Connect five started, which then continued in free moments throughout the workshop.

The following days saw a series of lectures, ranging from the principles of structural statics and chemistry in context, through machining, astrophysics and web portal operation, to a four-dimensional cube, specialized English, and poisons. The lectures were given by outstanding presenters, and well structured, despite the wide age range of students. In a way ensuring that everyone found something for them. The programme always began in the mornings, and the last activities were often held after nine o’clock in the evening, so we really did not know what boredom was, and the hunger for knowledge was always satisfied for most of us. Lectures were interspersed through various team competitions, including, for example, designing a web portal, and a plan for statics of basic elements of a selected building type.

Another diversion was the Sunday trip to Bouzov Castle, where we were guided throughout the castle, and Tuesday’s visit to Laser Technology s.r.o. Prostějov, where they thoroughly guided us through machining production, and tried to answer our inquisitive questions in the best possible way. This excursion was followed by a return to Olomouc, and the official conclusion of the event.

The workshop was my first Mensa event, not counting several MS Plzeň meetings, and I certainly appreciate it for its fantastic organization, the expertise of the lecturers, and their ability to structure lectures for such a wide range of students’ ages. I enjoyed the interaction of lecturers with the participants during the lectures, and the awarding of various sweets for the right answers, which proved to be a great positive motivation for greasing our brains. Many thanks to all the organizers and lecturers involved in such a great event, as well as to the Ministry, and likewise to Mensa members and non-members, and I hope that it will be possible to have a similar seminar in the future.

Daniel Hausner (19 years)
Grammar School and College Plasy

Related topics

• Reports from past events

16.9.2015

Mensa workshop for gifted students (September 2015) 15.9.2015 Lenka Šnajdrová

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