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.
- Porous Radical Organic framework improves lithium-sulphur batteriesA team led by Prof. Yan Lu, HZB, and Prof. Arne Thomas, Technical University of Berlin, has developed a material that enhances the capacity and stability of lithium-sulphur batteries. The material is based on polymers that form a framework with open pores (known as radical-cationic covalent organic frameworks or COFs). Catalytically accelerated reactions take place in these pores, firmly trapping polysulphides, which would shorten the battery life. Some of the experimental analyses were conducted at the BAMline at BESSY II.
- Metallic nanocatalysts: what really happens during catalysisUsing a combination of spectromicroscopy at BESSY II and microscopic analyses at DESY's NanoLab, a team has gained new insights into the chemical behaviour of nanocatalysts during catalysis. The nanoparticles consisted of a platinum core with a rhodium shell. This configuration allows a better understanding of structural changes in, for example, rhodium-platinum catalysts for emission control. The results show that under typical catalytic conditions, some of the rhodium in the shell can diffuse into the interior of the nanoparticles. However, most of it remains on the surface and oxidises. This process is strongly dependent on the surface orientation of the nanoparticle facets.
- Welcome: 16 young people start their apprenticeshipOn 1 September, 16 young people began their apprenticeship, dual study programme or voluntary year at HZB. A welcome event, initial insights into the world of research and a communication seminar marked the start of this new phase in their lives.