15 years of the PhotonLab: When curiosity leads to careers in physics

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A laser beam strikes a single hair. Light and dark stripes appear on a screen behind it: The light is diffracted by the hair, and its thickness can be calculated from the spacing of the stripes. What sounds like complicated measuring technology is something pupils can try out for themselves at the PhotonLab. The school laboratory is a collaborative initiative of LMU, the Max Planck Institute of Quantum Optics (MPQ), the Munich Center for Quantum Science and Technology (MCQST) Cluster of Excellence—in which LMU participates—and other partners. Since 2011, it has been teaching physics through hands-on experiments at the Garching Research Campus. “What I enjoy most is making complex physics understandable for pupils,” explains director Dr Silke Stähler-Schöpf.
The PhotonLab gives school classes an insight into cutting-edge research. At around 30 stations, the young people can investigate how light is guided through a jet of water, how music can be transmitted using laser light or how quantum cryptography works. Classes usually come from the ninth grade onward. They carry out experiments independently in small groups, with the help of various instructions. For older enthusiasts, there are also quantum courses and internships. In addition, more than 650 teachers have already attended training courses at the PhotonLab.

From initial experiments to sought-after school laboratory

The impetus for the lab’s foundation came from Ferenc Krausz, Professor of Experimental Physics at LMU and Director of the MPQ. As part of the Munich Center for Advanced Photonics (MAP) Cluster of Excellence, the now Nobel laureate in physics wanted to give young people the opportunity to conduct experiments for themselves and experience the fascination of physics. The first trial classes arrived in July 2011, after Stähler-Schöpf had designed the laboratory. Before taking on this role, the physics PhD graduate had spent many years guiding school classes through the Deutsches Museum. In Garching, she developed experiments which young people could do for themselves. “I am proud that I essentially set up the laboratory on my own and ran it for ten years,” Stähler-Schöpf recalls. Continue