20.11.2012

DESY school labs participate in first nationwide Helmholtz Day

DESY-Schülerlabore in Hamburg und Zeuthen dabei

On Tuesday, the 25 school labs of the Helmholtz Association organised the first nationwide Helmholtz Day, a new type of event dedicated to Hermann von Helmholtz (1821-1894). The namesake of the Helmholtz Association was one of the last prominent polymaths; however, Helmholtz’s in many cases pioneering findings are often not associated with him.

Pupils with vacuum half-shells at the DESY school lab in Zeuthen

Several hundred pupils took part in the first Helmholtz Day. The DESY school labs in Hamburg and Zeuthen each welcomed a class of sixth graders. A total of almost 50 pupils from Goethe-Gymnasium Hamburg and Europa-Schule Storkow were first introduced to Hermann von Helmholtz’s research work and then had the opportunity to do vacuum experiments. Each participant received a Helmholtz-T-shirt as a souvenir.

“It is important to ask the right questions.“ This was Hermann von Helmholtz’s research motto, for example when he investigated the phenomena of optics, acoustics, geology, meteorology and thermodynamics. The ophthalmoscope which he developed for retina examinations is still in use today, and his conservation of energy law “energy cannot get lost” is an integral part of physics lessons at school.

“We are glad that the school labs include a special day in their programme dedicated to our namesake in order to make pupils more familiar with Hermann von Helmholtz and his research work,” said Prof. Dr. Jürgen Mlynek, President of the Helmholtz Association. “Helmholtz was one of the most famous 19^th century scientists and he covered the whole range of natural sciences. As we express it in our mission, Hermann von Helmholtz also concentrated on farsighted research for the benefit of our society.”

The mission of the Helmholtz Association too aims at asking the right questions to solve the grand challenges which face society, science and industry. Likewise, with experiments at the school labs, the pupils will learn to see the essential questions to better understand and scrutinise natural science theories. The staff members of the 25 Helmholtz Association school labs provide the experimenting pupils with a better understanding for scientific thinking and give them insight into work in a scientific profession. This will arouse or deepen the interest of young people for natural sciences to ensure that this generation will continue to do research for the future.

Pupils at the DESY school lab in Hamburg watching a chocolate marshmallow in the vacuum.