It’s about imparting knowledge, research and creativity: the Gyro Gearloose of tomorrow are tinkering in the former Berchtesgaden high school. Any student interested in math, computer science, science and technology (STEM) is welcome here. On the table in front of Dominic and Maxi there is a so-called light cube, a table light organ. They want to build this cube that glows in different colors: with a plan, tools and with the help of Jürgen Gasteiger, the workshop manager of the student research center Berchtesgadener Land.
Marble music machine and bubble machine
Like the two Berchtesgaden high school students, many interested students from Bavaria and Salzburg have been tinkering and researching here in recent years. This resulted in a MINT exhibition on the second floor of the building. There are inventions with which the young people even won the “Jugend forscht” competition, such as the marble music machine. Students have been building it for two years and it is still being developed. Countless small stainless steel balls fall one after the other in orderly tracks onto the keys of a xylophone to play a piece of music – this is how math, physics and technology can be really fun.
Even more knowledge in the TU laboratory
In the laboratory, employees from the Technical University of Munich (TU Munich) support the inquisitive children and young people, let them carry out a wide variety of experiments themselves or show them, for example, how plants can grow under a large glass in a few weeks, a miniature world, so to speak. The annual highlight is a one-week “MINT Academy” at a scientific level. Here, too, the foundation for research careers is laid.
Tinkering in practice – interest in MINT is increasing
The idea for a student research center in Berchtesgaden came about in 2007. But it was not until 2011 that the educational facility for young researchers could start. In the meantime, more and more students are coming to the events or workshops offered every year. What Martin Hofreiter, director of studies and co-initiator of the Berchtesgadener Land student research center, is particularly pleased about: “We started very small. We now have a large house with many enthusiastic students. That’s what we want to convey: curiosity, enthusiasm, creativity and knowledge.”
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