Paris hosts the Mobile Newton Room, a new resource to (re)kindle a taste for science in young people

From February 21 to April 4, 2022, the François Villon school complex in Paris will host the Mobile Newton Room. This ambitious educational resource aims to (re)motivate students with a taste for science through an innovative, immersive learning experience.

This program, designed by the Norwegian organization FIRST Scandinavia and supported by the airplane manufacturer Boeing, is being implemented in France by the Léo Lagrange Federation.

After a successful launch in 2021 in Angers, Dijon, and Lyon (800 young people involved and 234 hours of modules delivered), the Newton Room program continues its roll-out in France. The François Villon junior high school, located in an educational priority zone in Paris' 14th district, has been chosen to host the first Mobile Newton Room in the French capital. This time it will include several new features such as a module on robotics and the participation of local community centers and primary school classes.

Newton: a hands-on learning experience adapted to the needs of young people

Teaching in a Newton Room focuses on the students' academic curriculum and science needs. Housed in two containers, the Newton Room expands to form a 754 sq. feet space containing educational materials and equipment such as flight simulators and small programmable robots. In three-hour shifts, groups of 15 students carry out activities in teams on a specific theme. In Paris, the educational modules "Up in the Air with Numbers - An Airy Adventure" and "Robots and circumference" will take center-stage. From February to April, nearly 500 young people will be able to benefit from the Newton Room. "Our goal at FIRST Scandinavia is to give children and young people a practical and fun learning experience in science and technology," says Stian Elstad, Managing Director of FIRST Scandinavia.

The project is supported on a European scale by Boeing and rolled out in France by the Léo Lagrange Federation

The global airplane manufacturer Boeing partnered with FIRST Scandinavia for the European rollout of the project in 2018. "This project is further proof of our commitment to diversity and education," says Jean-Marc Fron, Managing Director of Boeing France. Boeing chose the Léo Lagrange Federation to develop the program in France. "As a grassroots education movement, we are committed to developing critical thinking and the scientific approach," says Vincent Séguéla, Secretary General of the Léo Lagrange Federation.

For Sébastien Blondot, deputy principal of the Villon junior high school, "the presence of the Newton Room is a wonderful opportunity for the schoolchildren of the Villon Priority Education Network. There is unanimous enthusiasm among both teachers and students."

Other Newton Rooms are already planned in France for 2022, including the installation of the first permanent Room in Angers this spring.