Important information for your visit

More information

Schedule and experiment program

A program of instruction is drawn up for each visit together with the teachers. We usually begin around 9 am and finish with a concluding discussion around 4:20 pm. But we are flexible about this and can take your arrival and departure times into account.

DLR_School_Lab Köln currently offers twelve experiments:

Every experiment block requires about 60 minutes, including the introduction and evaluation. In order to give the students an opportunity to become actively involved and then discuss their results in some detail, each group should not have more than six participants. Depending on the size of the class, up to six groups can work in parallel. After a short break the groups can then move on to another experiment.

Since carrying out the experiments requires coordination with the participating staff, we assume that there will be no changes in the number of participants and the agreed date and time of your visit. If you need to make some adjustment, please let us know as soon as possible.

It is our experience that three different experiments can be carried out on each day of the visit by each student group without overtaxing the students. If all experiments are to be conducted by all students, a visit of at least two days is necessary.

But most DLR_School_Lab Köln visits are one-day events, withe the different groups informing each other later in the classroom about what experiments they conducted. We only arrange for half-day visits by exception.

Depending on the possibilities and interests, the experiments can be supplemented by tours and additional lectures. If you are interested in such an additional program, please inform us at an early date since special planning is necessary on our part.

Safety regulations

For safety reasons the names and addresses of the students and accompanying adults must be supplied in advance. Please send a list of participants about two weeks before your visit to the DLR_School_Lab director. If you want to give your students a certificate confirming their attendance, then this list must be in digital form. It would be most convenient if you used the Microsoft Word file which you receive together with the daily schedule. The accompanying adult should be ready to supply personal identification.

You are requested to keep together as a group while on the DLR premises, and to use only the roads marked on the map you receive. You are not permitted to photograph or film anything at DLR except inside the DLR_School_Lab hall.

Meals

Your students can bring along their own food. In the DLR_School_Lab hall we provide cold drinks (mineral water, Cola, Fanta) at cost (0.5l bottle for €1.00). We usually plan on a lunch break in the DLR cafeteria where the students can either buy a meal (soups, salads and main courses at prices between €1.20 and €5.00) or eat their own packed lunch.

There is no charge for the DLR_School_Lab instruction or for the visits to other DLR (or ESA) facilities.

Scheduling and waiting periods

DLR_School_Lab Köln is closed during the school vacations in NRW. In 2009, DLR_School_Lab Köln was attended by over 4,800 students, which means on almost every working day, not counting the vacation periods.

Please understand that it may take a few weeks before we can confirm the date of your visit. Under "Desired date" on the application form please enter - if possible - an extended period of time within which you could come. We can schedule visits up to 12 months in advance.

We allocate visit dates in the order of application, all other considerations being equal. After you apply, you will receive an email confirmation within a few days. And should you have any questions, please send us an email:

Email contact for questions: schoollab-koeln@dlr.de