Vrtec (Kindergarten) Hrastnik awarded the STEM School Label – recognition for excellence in STEAM education!

We are proud and delighted to announce that Vrtec Hrastnik has been awarded the STEM School Label – Competent! This prestigious European certificate acknowledges our commitment to providing high-quality, future-oriented education in the fields of Science, Technology, Engineering, Arts, and Mathematics (STEAM).

Our journey towards this recognition was greatly enriched by our international project The STEAM Challenge, carried out within the frameworks of eTwinning and Erasmus+. Through this project, we deepened our STEAM activities and introduced children to the world of robotics, creative problem-solving, and hands-on experimentation. Using educational robots such as Bee-bot, Cubetto, mTiny, and MouseBot, we helped children explore basic programming, spatial awareness, and logical thinking in a playful and engaging way.

The STEAM Challenge allowed us to further refine and structure our activities through the 5E instructional model (Engage, Explore, Explain, Elaborate, Evaluate), aligning them with the goals of the national preschool curriculum. We encouraged children to investigate, collaborate, and think independently—skills they will carry into the future.

Receiving the STEM School Label is a major milestone for

, confirming that we are on the right track. Even more importantly, it inspires us to continue developing STEAM competencies in creative, meaningful, and connected ways.