First-year AP students show their physics creations
The past few weeks, the first-year students of the Applied Physics bachelor degree programme at Delft University of Technology have been working on their final assignment for the course Design Engineering for Physicists. In groups, they created an installation that demonstrates a physical phenomenon. They will present their creation on Friday 5 July.
The Science Fair is the highlight of the course Design Engineering for Physicists, which is led by self-proclaimed 'MacGyver scientist' Rolf Hut. The young course is based on the Maker Education philosophy. The recruitment of the secondary school teachers involved and the communication to the secondary schools is done in collaboration with Bètasteunpunt Zuid-Holland.
“Maker Education incorporates the possibilities that are currently available, such as 3D printing, laser cutting and the Internet of Things”, said Rolf Hut. “It is also a very different way of thinking about education. We make the actual physical production the core of the teaching method. The central idea is that, by making something, you can learn a great deal about the various underlying (theoretical) processes. It is therefore a wonderful addition to all the fundamental physics knowledge that the students acquire.”
During the course, students learn to use their knowledge of physics to create real physical objects. This year they worked on a Van de Graaff generator, resonance in a 2D space, chladni-plates, the 'photo electric effect' and a cloud chamber. An important rule of the game is that the students’ creations must be usable in a physics lesson by their physics teacher from last year. Watch the video below for an impression of last year's Science Fair.
Would you like to know more about the idea behind the Design Engineering for Physicists course? Then read this article. And do you want to be there on the 5th of July? Then sign up here.
