Adventure from Sulingen: Students send chocolate coast into space!

Adventure from Sulingen: Students send chocolate coast into space!

The project week at the Sulingen grammar school inspires students with innovative experiments and an exciting weather balloon start. On Tuesday, June 3, a weather balloon was sent to space with a radio probe to expand the limits of MINT lessons. The balloon started at 11:30 a.m. and was part of a comprehensive project to Europe that involved 20 students in grades 6 to 12. The physics course of grade 12 and the meteorology group under the direction of Dr. Christoph Oelke. The support in biological and chemical issues came from Wilfried Köhn.

The radio probe, which was attached to a 35-kilometer high laboratory made of styrofoam with chambers for various experiments, included a data logger, a GPS transmitter and a camera. The experiments encompassed sprouted cress seeds, unpleasant carrot seeds as well as forest ants and cellar naves. During the flight duration, the chocolate pussy burst due to the pressure drop, while the toothpaste tube only floated slightly. The animal study objects did not survive the trip, whereas the results of the seeds still have to be evaluated.

the high altitude and its challenges

The weather balloon reaches the planned climax of 35 kilometers after about two hours before it burst and returned the probe with a parachute. It landed about 12 kilometers from the calculated target point in Fintel, district of Rotenburg (Wümme). A recovery team set off with vehicles and equipment to recover the probe. Students found the entire project both exciting and instructive; A repetition of the balloon start is conceivable because the probe is reusable.

The stratosphere project illustrates how students work across subjects, which is why such experiments are increasingly in schools. Janna Pahnke from the “House of Little Researchers” foundation emphasizes that MINT formation is crucial for sustainable development in children, while interdisciplinary learning is promoted. However, the support of politics is necessary to optimize the MINT training courses and to ensure equal opportunities. These educational measures are particularly important in order to counteract the ongoing shortage of skilled workers in Germany, as well as the Federal Ministry of Education and Research (BMBF) confirmed in a recently carried out meeting of the Committee on Education, Research and Technology Assessment.

MINT formation in the focus of politics

As part of the MINT formation, the BMBF provides funding of 11 million euros, which specifically aim to strengthen interdisciplinary learning and the inherent potential of these disciplines. New projects such as "Maker Spaces" are presented in which students learn modern experimentation, which should increase enthusiasm for MINT issues. This initiative is in the context of the need to enrich school knowledge to practical learning and to integrate the students into their own research and experiment culture.

For more information about the Sulingen high school, you can visit Kreiszeitung . If you are interested in the basics of the stratosphere project and the associated educational effort, a look at Stratoflights . Information on the MINT education at the political level can be found at the Bundestag website .