"In cooperation with the University of Münster, we have developed low-cost experiments from the 3D printer that make it possible to experience modern physics in school lessons," says Oliver Burmeister, head of the Leibniz Lab of Optics and Photonics and the PhoenixD student project workshop Protoys.
His team gave visitors an insight into optics at the joint stand of hannoverimpuls stand and showed a Michelson interferometer. With the help of such an instrument, scientists once proved that the speed of light is the same in every reference frame. This insight makes the Michelson-Morley experiment one of the most famous experiments in the history of physics. Albert Einstein also used the findings as a fundamental assumption for his special theory of relativity.
The Maker Faire is an annual fair presented by the German-language Make magazine. At the fair, tinkerers and inventors presented countless do-it-yourself ideas and projects. Topics included 3D printing, coding, cosplay, electronics, handicrafts, hardware hacking, Internet of Things, laser cutters, Lego, model making, sustainability, Raspberry Pi, robotics, smart home, steampunk, and upcycling.
According to a press release by the Heise Group, which publishes Make magazine, some exhibitors had travelled from Spain, Austria, the Czech Republic, the Netherlands and the USA. Among the speakers at the Maker Faire was Briton Eben Upton, considered the "father of the Raspberry Pi" (Raspi). The Raspi single-board computer can be a perfect tool for getting even the youngest children into programming and is thus the ideal device for STEM education.
According to the press release, at the Teachers' Day, parallel to the Maker Faire, teachers learnt how to integrate such Raspi projects into everyday school life. A cooperation of Make Magazine with the Hannover Region and the Lower Saxony State Institute for Quality Development in Schools (NLQ) organised the Teachers' Day. Teachers from all over Germany took part in the event.
The Maker Faire Hannover is under the patronage of the Federal Minister of Education, Bettina Stark-Watzinger; ambassadors are Falko Mohrs, Minister of Science and Culture, and Steffen Krach, President of the Hannover Region. Lower Saxony's Minister of Education and Culture Julia Willie Hamburg opened this year's event.
You can find the lecture programme of the Maker Faire 2023 here. You can find a photo gallery of the event here and watch a video here. Did you miss the Maker Faire 2023? Then note the date for next year: 24 and 25 August 2024.
Would you like to know what we have to offer pupils? Then, please take a look here or send us an email. We look forward to curious visitors.
Good to know: PhoenixD will also open its doors for the "Long Night that Creates Knowledge". Come and visit us on Saturday, 4 November 2023, between 6 pm and midnight (Welfengarten 1A).
