4th MINT project week

The math and science project week for the 8th-grade advanced class at the Geschwister-Scholl-Gymnasium in Löbau, held at the Zittau-Görlitz University of Applied Sciences, took place for the fourth time this year from September 12 to 16 in Zittau and Görlitz.

With great dedication, the 26 students worked on twelve project topics this year in the HSZG laboratories. They formed teams of two and spent four days working on a project topic in the participating university laboratories. On the final day, Friday, September 16, each team presented the technical findings of their project to teachers, University representatives, parents, and students in the AGORA hall of the Geschwister-Scholl-Gymnasium in Löbau. These impressive final presentations demonstrated the great dedication of the students, who have just entered 8th grade and are taking their first steps in scientific research through this project. Following the presentations, awards were given for the good poster and the good presentation.

The students in this year’s 8th-grade class 8/5 are also demonstrating in class, through their participation in various competitions, and overall through their conduct at the high school, the potential that this form of support holds for gifted and interested young mathematicians and scientists.

This year, faculty members from the University offered the curious students the following project assignments:

• “All That Glitters Is Not Gold—Carbide Coating via the Vacuum Process,” Faculty of Mechanical Engineering / Institute for Surface Technology (IOT),
• “Stream surveys on the Grundbach,” Faculty of Natural and Environmental Sciences,
• "Raw Milk, Low-Fat Quark, Cream, Kefir—or Is It All Just Quark?", Institute for Process Development, Peat and Natural Products Research (iTN),
• "Natural and Synthetic Dyes," Faculty of Natural and Environmental Sciences,
• "We Program Games with Scratch," Faculty of Electrical Engineering and Computer Science, Department of Computer Science,
• "Wind Tunnel—Build It Yourself," Faculty of Mechanical Engineering / Fluid Mechanics and Machinery,
• "The Noble Gas Radon—How Does It Get Into My Building?", Faculty of Mechanical Engineering, Center for Knowledge and Technology Transfer (ZWT) / Energy Technology Cabinet (ETK),
• "How Much Energy Does a Building Need?", Faculty of Business Administration and Engineering, Building Physics and HVAC Laboratory,
• "Investigations into Discharges and the Breakdown Behavior of Air Insulation," Faculty of Electrical Engineering and Computer Science / Power Engineering,
• "Programming a Programmable Logic Controller (PLC) for a Traffic Light System," Faculty of Electrical Engineering and Computer Science / Automation Technology,
• "Programming a Robot Platform with Omniwheels in a Maze," Faculty of Electrical Engineering and Computer Science / Communications Technology.

A big thank you for their exceptional dedication goes to the HSZG staff members involved. Thanks to their commitment, the children were able to experience this unique project week!