20 years of promoting science in the school lab
Experiments that are designed to spark an interest in science: This is what the HZB School Lab has stood for over the past 20 years. © Rasche/ Netzwerk GenaU
38,000 visitors in 20 years: high demand shows need for science education
Twenty years ago, on 29 November 2004, Klaus Böger, then Senator for Education in Berlin, opened one of the capital's first school laboratories. Since then, Helmholtz-Zentrum Berlin (HZB), in cooperation with the Berlin Senate, has successfully promoted science education through project days and further training in the school lab.
The HZB School Lab offers hands-on project days for grades 5 to 13 on current research topics such as solar energy, light and colours, and materials research. During the project days, students work in small groups to carry out experiments independently. They are supervised by teachers, scientists and students. The teachers working in the School Lab are funded by the Berlin Senate Department for Education, Youth and Family and are released from their teaching duties for this work.
With around 38,000 visitors over the last 20 years, the demand for such additional science teaching facilities is clearly evident. Thomas Frederking, HZB's commercial director, says: "For 20 years, the School Lab has not only given children and young people an insight into our research, it has also encouraged them to take up scientific careers. In view of the shortage of specialists in these fields, the social value of this commitment is obvious."
In addition to project days for young students, the School Lab also offers trainings for teachers to demonstrate new ways of enriching science lessons. In addition, particularly interested and talented kids and teenagers are supported in two working groups.
"The experiments in the School Lab help to develop critical thinking in young people," says Dr Ulrike Witte, head of the School Lab. "Many school kids only know experiments from YouTube videos - here they experience that experimenting is exciting and not so difficult’. The HZB School Lab will continue to inspire young people's interest in science with a variety of activities in the coming years.
School lab in figures
- 2004: Opening of the school laboratory in Berlin-Wannsee
- 2010: Opening of the second site in Berlin-Adlershof
- 38,000 visitors in 20 years
- Supervision of 100 student trainees
- Training for over 800 teachers
The Helmholtz-Zentrum Berlin für Materialien und Energie is a renowned research centre of the Helmholtz Association. It explores and develops new materials and technologies that will make a contribution to a climate-neutral energy supply in the future. HZB is funded by the Federal Ministry of Education and Research (90 per cent) and the State of Berlin (10 per cent). The establishment of the school laboratory in 2004 was also supported by the Helmholtz Association with 340,000 euros.
- MXene for energy storage: More versatile than expectedMXene materials are promising candidates for a new energy storage technology. However, the processes by which the charge storage takes place were not yet fully understood. A team at HZB has examined, for the first time, individual MXene flakes to explore these processes in detail. Using the in situ Scanning transmission X-ray microscope 'MYSTIIC' at BESSY II, the scientists mapped the chemical states of Titanium atoms on the MXene flake surfaces. The results revealed two distinct redox reactions, depending on the electrolyte. This lays the groundwork for understanding charge transfer processes at the nanoscale and provides a basis for future research aimed at optimising pseudocapacitive energy storage devices.
- Compact electron accelerator for treating PFAS-contaminated waterSo-called forever chemicals or PFAS compounds are a growing environmental problem. An innovative approach to treating PFAS-contaminated water and soil now comes from accelerator physics: high-energy electrons can break down PFAS molecules into harmless components through a process called radiolysis. A recent study published in PLOS One shows that an accelerator developed at HZB, based on a SRF photoinjector, can provide the necessary electron beam.
- Bright prospects for tin perovskite solar cellsPerovskite solar cells are widely regarded as the next generation photovoltaic technology. However, they are not yet stable enough in the long term for widespread commercial use. One reason for this is migrating ions, which cause degradation of the semiconducting material over time. A team from HZB and the University of Potsdam has now investigated the ion density in four different, widely used perovskite compounds and discovered significant differences. Tin perovskite semiconductors produced with an alternative solvent had a particular low ion density — only one tenth that of lead perovskite semiconductors. This suggests that tin-based perovskites could be used to make solar cells that are not only really environmentally friendly but also very stable.