How school and science fit together

Waldheim/Hartha. Test tubes lined up with different labels, an excited group of students standing in the lab wearing protective goggles and lab coats, and Dr Johannes Schwarz explaining the task once again. Even for the scientist, the situation is still a little unfamiliar.

„It is always very interesting to work with the young people“, explains Dr Schwarz, who develops electrochemical sensors for the environment in his normal day-to-day work.

Testing with Hartha students

In his laboratory on Friday morning, he tested the nitrate content of drinking water samples from Dresden, Waldheim and Roßwein together with ninth-grade students from Martin Luther Grammar School in Hartha.

„To be considered drinking water, the samples must be below 50 milligrams per litre. If this is the case, the young people can also drink the samples after the test," says Dr Johannes Schwarz with a smile. To do this, the pupils have to re-enter the values every 20 minutes and compare them with the previous ones.

„It's really fun to try it all out for yourself. It's always very theoretical at school and here we get to try out and participate a lot,

says pupil Lucas.

Funß beim Unterricht

„It's not just theory, but also a lot of practical stuff and that's always much more funß“, agrees classmate Maja. In another laboratory at the Kurt Schwabe Institute for Measurement and Sensor Technology Meinsberg (KSI), students measure impedance, i.e. electrical resistance in alternating current technology.

Dr Wolfgang Fichtner always has an eye on them, keeping a close eye on the measurement data and providing assistance in the event of problems.

In order not to be completely unprepared in the labs, the students had a few theory lessons in advance.

„The principle is relatively simple. We swap locations every fortnight. Once the students are with us, then our scientists are in Hartha two weeks later and then the next time the students are back here in Meinsberg," explains Dr Christine Schirmer from the Kurt Schwabe Institute.

„We want to show the pupils how scientists work and give them an incentive to engage intensively with the topics,

said Heike Geißler, headmistress at Martin-Luther-Gymnasium.

She initiated the project together with Dr Christine Schirmer from KSI and Barbara Müller from the town of Hartha.

„The collaboration came about in 2020 during the simul+ ideas competition organised by the Free State of Saxony. We submitted our project there, which aimed to bring pupils and scientists closer together," says Dr Christine Schirmer.

&pondering pays off

The long deliberations should pay off. The project idea led to first place. „In the big city, such projects are easy to realise. In addition to schools and universities, there are plenty of scientific institutes. Here in the countryside, you have to deal with it more intensively," says Heike Geißler.

The headmistress is all the happier that the town of Hartha is supporting the project so well and, in addition to the funding, is also providing a bus to transport the pupils.

„In any case, it is a very valuable story that has opened up here and we hope that we can continue the project in the coming year,

says Heike Geißler. „The students are definitely interested in the topics," said Dr Wolfgang Fichtner. „Even if more for some and less for others.“

Article in the "Sächsische SZ" from 31 May 2023