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Looking - with eyes and cameras

Experiment program for 5th and 6th grade classes

Young future researchers themselves conduct experiments and learn what an eye is made of, and what else we need to be able to see. How are images formed on our retina? How powerful are our eyes? What role does our brain have when we see anything? And: can our sense of sight also deceive us sometimes?

The entire text is only available in German.

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Fuel cells

Hydrogen - an energy supplier with a future

We are quite used to having access to electricity, day and night, at the flick of a switch. But fossil energy sources like coal, petroleum and natural gas not only burden our environment whenever they are burned, they will someday be exhausted. Obtaining an energy supply with the help of fuel cells is one of the possible alternatives. But just how do they function? And how is it that the DLR's Antares airplane can fly for hours with fuel cells supplying the propulsion?

The entire text is only available in German.

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Graetzel cell

The Popeye of solar cells

We all know Popeye, that grumpy but good-hearted sailor who eats spinach to develop unsuspected reserves of strength whenever in need. In his day it was mistakenly thought that spinach leaves contained an unusually large amount of iron and were thus especially healthy. But what nobody could suspect back then was that spinach, along with a few other ingredients, can be used to produce electricity! The "recipe" needed is available at DLR_School_Lab Berlin.

The entire text is only available in German.

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Infrared light - heat radiation

How to have a look at heat

We orient ourselves in our environment with the help of our eyes. But a lot of what is around us is invisible because our eyes react to only a small part of the wide range of solar radiation. As a result, scientists have developed instruments that make visible something we otherwise only can feel: heat radiation. But can we also feel what we see with the help of these sensors? A fascinating experiment with a few surprises!

The entire text is only available in German.

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Laser

From laser show to remotely measuring distance

Patches of fog waver over the stage and are penetrated by narrow beams of light in bright colors. Laser shows are fascinating and already standard components of pop concerts. But what's so special about laser light? How does it differ from light from normal sources? And how does a laser work, anyway? Up-and-coming scientists will find answers to more than these questions when they experiment with a dye laser.

The entire text is only available in German.

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Meteorites

A danger to Earth?

The sight of falling stars in a clear night sky is truly both fascinating and beautiful. And they are supposed to satisfy wishes. A rather reasonable wish would be that this object hopefully won't drop on someone's head! In fact, about 40 tons of extraterristic material enter the Earth's atmosphere each day. Most of these objects are so small that they burn up entirely. The better part of the sparse remnants sinks to the ground of the oceans or impacts on uninhabited areas. Therefore, humans barely notice anything of meteorites - except from nightly light appearances.

The entire text is only available in German.

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	Navigation - day to day orientation With GPS and Galileo through Adlershof Science City How to find the right way has been a human concern for millenia. At DLR_School_Lab up-and-coming researchers can get the latest information on the subject of orientation, investigate how satellite navigation technology works, and learn about its capabilities. The entire text is only available in German.
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Weightlessness

Experiments with microgravity

Whenever astronauts move around in space they experience the fascination of almost complete weightlessness. But one can experiment with microgravity also on the earth, and not only in a swimming pool used to train astronauts or on so-called parabolic flights, but also at DLR_School_Lab Berlin, where the penomena of higher spheres can be presented - on firm ground, no less!

The entire text is only available in German.

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Solar cells

A sunny future for alternative energy

While looking for energy sources that can be exploited without damaging the environment, people "rediscovered" the sun as a reliable supplier. With the help of solar cells, the energy reaching the earth or the space station ISS as light can be converted into electricity. Already today solar equipment installed on many rooftops generates electricity without producing any exhaust. But how is it that light can become electricity?

The entire text is only available in German.

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Stereo images

The third dimension in view

The world most people see with their eyes is three dimensional. We can tell, for example, that a house is further away from us than some other building, or how far a cup is from our hand as we reach out to grasp it. But what happens if we view the world not with both eyes, but only with one, or through a camera? And what does all this have to do with the planet Mars anyway?

The entire text is only available in German.

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Simulating traffic

Traffic jams that don't upset anybody

Being stuck in a traffic jam and complaining about it is something anyone can do. But to avoid the traffic jam in the first place requires knowing how it forms. This can be studied, also in experiments. But it would be hard to persuade hundreds of thousands of Berlin drivers to cause a traffic jam for this purpose. So what can traffic researchers do instead? They can cause a virtual traffic jam!

The entire text is only available in German.

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Looking - with eyes and cameras

Fuel cells

Graetzel cell

Infrared light - heat radiation

Laser

Meteorites

Navigation - day to day orientation

Weightlessness

Solar cells

Stereo images

Simulating traffic