Hands-on Physics Experiments for K-6 Teachers at CERN

Abstract

The introduction of students to physics education from a young age is essential in stimulating scientific thinking and maximizing the effectiveness of STEM teaching at all levels. According to international research, the desire to pursue a profession in physics may begin in the primary school. Large research infrastructures worldwide are ideal educational environments for the development of training courses addressed to science teachers as part of their educational programs. The training lab presented in this paper was part of a CERN initiative titled “Playing with Protons," which was addressed to Greek primary school teachers who teach physics and information technology. The purpose of this lab was to integrate modern physics, cutting-edge scientific research and scientific methodology at the primary school educational level, through simple hands-on experiments on astrophysics and cosmology. Our paper focuses on the CERN astrophysics lab, which was tested in the K-6 school laboratory. The outcomes of both labs and the comprehension of fundamental physics laws by the participating teachers and students are analyzed.