Space for ideas in the "wonderland of physics"

Dr Sascha Gruner

The large physics laboratory is located on the ground floor of the new physics building at Chemnitz University of Technology. Young people are sitting at computers, carrying out measurements, setting up experiments, talking about results and causalities. It is only at second glance that it becomes clear that these supposed students are not students at all. Instead, they are school pupils who have come together during the winter holidays to work on their ideas in the "Wunderland Physik" school laboratory at the TU. They are supported by Dr Sascha Gruner, who runs the school lab.

How did the idea of opening a school lab for physics here come about?
Dr Sascha Gruner : The school lab has been around for ten years now. We had the idea of opening our physics laboratories to schoolchildren. There was a federal German programme that promotes extracurricular places of learning. The close connection to physics lessons then developed quickly.

How do school classes come to you?
The head teacher of the school asks us if they can come here with their class. We need a certain amount of preparation time in order to offer the right project for the class level and then the class comes here and does their double lesson in physics with us. The important thing is that the experiments we do here with the pupils are then incorporated into the "normal" lessons at school and discussed afterwards.

Do they come back once they've been here?
There are teachers who really enjoy using the facilities here in the school lab. It's true that once they've got to know it, they come regularly with their classes and the pupils come to the school lab once a year - up to year 12. But this is not free time. Visiting the school lab is part of the lessons and is not voluntary. So the whole class comes.

If the whole class comes here, then there are bound to be some who don't enjoy physics as much as others. How do you motivate such pupils?
That's not really a problem here. It's extremely rare that a pupil completely refuses to take part. This is due to the special environment of the laboratory. It's different to school here. You are away from the school building, you have special equipment here, the students work in groups of two, so there is always something for everyone to do. We can also carry out experiments here that are not possible in the physics room at school. Be it because of the equipment or the time. The teachers also prepare the pupils for what to expect here.

Dr Sascha Gruner says of himself "I was in the right place at the right time". Born in Oberwiesenthal, he studied physics at Chemnitz University of Technology and then completed his doctorate. Since 2012, he has headed up the university's "Wunderland Physik" school laboratory, acting as a kind of interface between school and university. Almost 3,000 pupils a year can try their hand at the school lab, exactly where students also work.

Do pupils also come here in their free time?
That happens, of course. Pupils work here on larger projects, such as for "Jugend forscht" and the BeLL (special learning achievement for school, editor's note). But that's not the core business. Such research by pupils requires intensive supervision and you need time for it, as the pupils only have a small time window. Especially in the eleventh and twelfth grades, students sometimes have lessons until 4 or 5 pm. At some point it becomes difficult to find the time.

How has the student lab been received by the teachers?
We certainly didn't have the number of pupils in the lab right from the start that we have now. But word got around very quickly and it was well received by the teachers. The subject teachers recognised the advantage very quickly and were then able to argue their case to the school management. We keep inviting the teachers to further training courses and thus make new teacher contacts. We try to offer something practical for all class levels. With enough advance notice, even something we've never offered before - we can always think of something.

Are there pupils who have been to the school lab and then decided to study physics at the TU?
There are faces that you recognise. But not if they've sat in the student lab with their class and experimented here - there are too many of them for that. It's more likely to be the pupils who have worked on their own project here. For example, for "Jugend forscht" and for a BeLL. Pupils with whom you have worked together over a longer period of time, so to speak. However, I can't say whether the school lab produces more students for physics or not. We don't have such a measurement. We currently have two from last year whose projects we helped supervise and who are now studying physics at the TU. So that does happen.

Does the school lab or the Institute of Physics have a good reputation here?
The school lab as we have it here is unique in Saxony. We are not only visited by schools from Chemnitz, but from all over Saxony. Once a year, for example, the grammar school from Pirna comes to Chemnitz for three days. The project is run in cooperation with the youth hostel at Getreidemarkt. The programme is called "Time out with brains". The students then spend a day in our laboratory with a programme of activities to suit their grade level.
As an institute, we naturally provide the basic physics training. Chemnitz is traditionally a "solid state centre". This means that we conduct research here in particular on solids, semiconductor technology, etc. We also have a strong optics component. And with "Sensory and Cognitive Psychology" we have a degree programme that is unique in Germany. This is a cooperative degree programme with the Institute of Psychology. The programme focuses on the human-machine interface.

The student lab has been running for ten years now. Are there any highlights from the past few years?
We have organised a lot of great things and projects here. The fact that new interested pupils keep coming here and that we can give them something to do is simply fantastic. Then, of course, we always have highlights when students work on their own projects and win prizes in the "Jugend forscht" competition, and the results are simply fantastic. Our events for the children's university are also always a lot of fun. In recent years, we have opened up to the primary school sector. This has to do with the fact that the university also runs a teacher training programme for primary schools. We have students on this programme who are interested in taking physics into primary schools and experimenting a lot there.

What are the study conditions like in Chemnitz?
We are relatively small here and have a manageable number of students. As a result, they also have direct contact with the teaching staff. We don't have long waiting times for consultation hours. We can offer individual support for final theses. Our practical laboratory is very large, so practical training is very possible.

And away from the walls of the university, how do you feel about the city?
Well, Chemnitz is a beautiful city, isn't it? Well, there's no question about it. I wouldn't make any compromises here compared to other cities. Why should I? Chemnitz is a wonderful city. Of course, everyone has to find their own interests. But there is a lot on offer here, a great infrastructure, a lot is happening on campus. Short distances...

Do you have to encourage the people of Chemnitz?
Well, it's also difficult. If you want to describe where Chemnitz is located to people from outside, then you automatically make the comparison with Dresden and Leipzig, because you say "Chemnitz is in a kind of triangle with Dresden and Leipzig". But the comparison doesn't have to be. We have a great theatre, we have the Ore Mountains right on our doorstep. The university is great. There are lots of great things to do in the city centre. Chemnitz is great!