Before coming to Liverpool I had completely different guess about what are Children's Universities in the United Kingdom than I have now. I thought it is a network of small groups organizing different kind of activities for children not exclusively connected with science but often including sports, drama, music or outdoor's events. Far out! Now I know that the UK-projects focus on very specific issues within their work with children and young people.

In Liverpool I've met Professor Fluffy and her (yes, she is a lady) Primary Adventure. And I am impressed of the huge work the Liverpool team is doing with their students. I will try to describe it briefly as this is yet another model of what I've encountered among many diverse model of Children's Universities around Europe.

Professor Fluffy, a violet, hairy character, leads youngest children through their first meetings with the university. The Liverpool team invites school classes, from not-privileged districts to join the project. Then the primary school classes have a wide range of activities within the Liverpool university and their school. The aim of the Professor Fluffy program is to let the children know that going to university and studying could be a thinkable opportunity for their future. Many of them had no contact to universities and the idea of higher education at all and feel rather uncomforted with the term university itself. There is very little knowledge what a university stands for and what is happening there. So they learn about university terms, culture, every-day life. Of course there are "fun-with-science" activities too. But the main objective is to get the children acquainted with the university itself. Subsequently, when the children are in the secondary schools, the offer is more academic. There are workshops, lectures and even stay-at the-university trip for teenagers. They are invited to join the project as individuals not as a member of particular class. So when the high-school time comes, the offer is even more individualized. The particular student signs up a contract to participate in 90 hours of university activities per year! Those activities are tailor-made and they do help the student to enter to the chosen university and to become a real university student. It is really amazing how working with the smallest children may result in individual success at the end.

[Jolanta Różowska organizes the Małopolski University for Children - english information on EUCU.NET available.]