Educational Travel Fam Trip and Workshop 23.-25.11.2021

Preliminary program

Tuesday 23.11.

Individual arrivals in Porvoo

10:00 Visiting Learn & Educate Finland Address: Aleksinpolku 6 A 2 L, Porvoo (10 minutes walk from the bus station)
Learn and educate Finland is fast growing company that sells Finnish Curriculum and educational products as its best. They offer tailor-made teacher training packages according to their customers needs. They also provide Go Creative camps for students age 7-12
Visit to new Metsätähti day care centre
Kindergarten Metsätähti offers early childhood education in Finnish and Swedish, as well as pre-school education in Swedish. A total of ten early childhood education groups operate on the premises, where there are approximately 180 children altogether. By the end of 2021, a new, modern and spacious wooden kindergarten building will be completed for Metsähti day care centre. The new building will be located on the west bank of the beautiful river Porvoonjoki and will be the largest kindergarten in Porvoo with 10 operating groups altogether. The new wooden kindergarten building will be part of a larger wood construction entity that will be created in the area in the coming years
12:30 lunch in restaurant Fabriken (page in Finnish) at the Art Factory
Visit to Kantele-talo - an educational centre (page in Finnish) (presentation in English) with the following units:
- Kevätkumpu Primary school (grades 1-6)
- Vårberga Primary school for Swedish speaking students (grades 1-6)
- Finnish and Swedish speaking preschool groups for 6-year-old children
- Youth center called Nuokka
- Local library
- Sports hall
Kevätkumpu Primary School is a local and multicultural school open to all children from the area. School has a special emphasis on guiding the development of the students' emotional and social interaction skills. The school is profiled in climate change mitigation, and children learn to do small everyday climate actions from first grade. Kevätkumpu as well as Vårberga school has a special focus on the learning of Finnish language and literature as well as mathematics.  The underlying principles of teaching activities in Kevätkumpu include student participation and co-teaching as well as integration and inclusion of all learners. School strives to develop creative solutions to learning and teaching. The aim is to help everyone discover the joy of working and learning
15:30 Before departure to Lahti a visit to chocolate factory Brunberg's factory shop, which is one of the most popular visiting places in Porvoo
Transfer by bus from Porvoo to Pajulahti

18:00 Welcome to Lahti region, Pajulahti Olympic Training Center!
Pajulahti Olympic Training Center in Lahti offers excellent conditions and sport and leisure facilities for organizing successful school camps and excursions. We have the sole status of Olympic and Paralympic training center in Finland. Pajulahti is located on the clean lake Iso-Kukkanen, surrounded by beautiful nature, just over an hour´s drive from the capital area and twenty minutes from Lahti city center. Year-round visits are made easy in Pajulahti - special programs for winter and summer!
Site inspection with a short activity program suitable for camp schools (Archery)
Dinner
Overnight in Pajulahti

Wednesday 24.11.

Breakfast in Pajulahti
09:00 Lahti European Green capital – Visit to Salpakierto Waste Management
Lahti is the first Finnish city to be appointed as the European Green Capital in 2021. This is an acknowledgement of the work Lahti has done for decades to develop into a more environmentally friendly and sustainable city that belongs to everyone. Visits to the companies pioneering in environmental work and clean tech business in Lahti can easily be connected also to the educational travel programs when the interest of the group focuses on the sustainable development.
10:00 Visit to a Salpausselkä Geopark Site; Guided walking tour to Lahti Sports Centre  
Salpausselkä Geopark, situated in the Lahti region in southern Finland, tells the story of the best-known geological entity of Finland. The First and Second Salpausselkä are unique ice-marginal formations laid down by the last Ice Age. They reach across the entirety of southern Finland and are at their most spectacular in the area of Salpausselkä Geopark. The Salpausselkä Geopark area is being developed to meet the criteria set for UNESCO Global Geoparks. The application was submitted to UNESCO in 2020. Lahti Sports Centre is internationally known as the venue for the Nordic Ski World Championships and one of the most significant geological destinations in Salpausselkä Geopark. During the tour, you can enjoy nature within only about 1 km from the city centre and hear e.g. how the terrain with steep slopes has formed.
11:30 Lunch in the restaurant Voitto
The restaurant Voitto is situated in the famous Lahti Sport Center in the same building as the Ski museum. Before the lunch we make a short stop in the museum in order to try the ski jump simulator. During the lunch you will see the three ski jump towers, often characterized as the symbol of the city.
12:30 Departure from Lahti

13:30 Welcome to HelsinkiNorth region  
Guided tour in Hyvinkää
Hyvinkää is a growing, diverse city near Helsinki. Hyvinkää offers a variety of opportunities in the fields of outdoor recreation, culture, sports and exercise all year round.
15:00 Nature-based learning experience
Slight view of nature education with local upper secondary school Kipinä
In Hyvinkää nature is close to the city centre and also close to the hearts of local people
16:00 Experience the nature in Sveitsi area
Adventure Park SeikkailuSveitsi
The versatile rope courses offer challenges and the joy of success for outdoor enthusiasts of all ages and adventures. SeikkailuSveitsi has 12 separate high ropes courses. The courses are built on trees at heights of 1-15 meters. The specialty of the park is the Mega ZipLine wire slide, built over a glacial kettle hole
Exploring the Sveitsi Nature Trail
The Sveitsi Nature Trail passes through the geologically important and biologically diverse Sveitsi Nature reserve, including the strikingly varied forest landscape of Sveitsi Ridge
Picnic at the Campfire in a forest
19:00 Check-in at Hotel Sveitsi
Hotel Sveitsi is a modern characteristic hotel for business and holiday in the middle of the most beautiful tourist and leisure area in Southern Finland, Hyvinkää. There is a wide range of activities and services for nature enthusiasts, sports lovers and those looking for unique experiences for all ages. The hotel's 182 comfortable rooms, high quality restaurants, modern meeting facilities and atmospheric banquet halls are situated right in the heart of Sveitsi area – a destination on its own. In 2017 the hotel was fully refurbished to meet the high standards of a modern travel – both business and leisure
19:30 Dinner at Hotel Sveitsi restaurant Karhunpesä
Overnight in Hotel Sveitsi

Thursday 25.11.

Early bird swimming at Sveitsi Swimming Center  / optional
(entrance to pools is included in room rate)

Breakfast at the hotel

Educational Travel Workshop, Hotel Sveitsi

09:00-09:20 Registration
09:20-09:30 Welcome
09:30-11:30 Workshop
11:30-12:30 Lunch
12:30-13:50 Workshop continues
13:50-14:00 Ending words
14:30 Transfer from the hotel to Hyvinkää Railway Station (if needed)

Individual departures home

Thank you for joining our fam trip and workshop!