Yesterday, the second online children's lecture of this winter semester took place: Under the title "Big bang, quarks and what holds the world together", Dr. Melanie Hoffmeister from the Schülerforschungszentrum Ludwigshafen-Vorderpfalz explained the smallest building blocks of matter and the forces that hold them together to the young students in a child-friendly way. And the topic was a real challenge! Equipped with paper, pencil, plasticine and Lego bricks, the 32 children went into the world of atoms and beyond: Even quarks, Higgs and neutrinos were discussed. The neutrinos, the so-called ghost particles with superpowers, were a particular favorite of the little researchers.
But the big bang, radioactive decay and the physical forces that hold everything together - gravity, electric force, magnetic force and the so-called strong and weak force - were also addressed. Dr. Melanie Hoffmeister and the children's university team were amazed at how interested the children were in spite of the difficult topic and how well they already knew it! And this despite the fact that most of them have had neither physics nor chemistry at school so far.
For all children who participated yesterday and want to know more about the topic, Dr. Hoffmeister has provided a list of further links. Have fun exploring further!
A big compliment to all the Kinderuni-Kids and a big thank you to lecturer Dr. Melanie Hoffmeister!
Due to the great demand for the event, HWG LU is offering a repeat date on the same topic:
- Topic: "Big bang, quarks and what holds the world together".
- Date: 03/15/2022 / 4:30-6:00 p.m.
- Location: Online, zoom link will be emailed closer to the date.
- Lecturer: Dr. Melanie Hoffmeister, Student Research Center Ludwigshafen-Vorderpfalz, mathematics and physics teacher, graduate physicist with focus on nuclear and medical physics.
Due to the pandemic situation, the Children's University in March will also be held in an online format. Participating children or their parents will be sent the Zoom dial-in link promptly before the event. Therefore, registration is required by March 8, 2022 via the university's event portal.
Registration and more info here
The Children's University series will be continued in the summer semester of 2022. The program will soon be available on our homepage at www.hwg-lu.de/hochschule/kennenlernangebote/kinder-uni or at https://www.veranstaltungen.hwg-lu.de/event.
The Children's University lectures are a joint campaign of the Ministry of Science and Health of Rhineland-Palatinate and the state's universities.
