With the new project area Ö and its project Ö1|Cartarius/Mappes, NOA aims not only at bundling the science communication and dissemination activities but to bring them to another level. Project Ö1 will tackle the didactical challenge to develop concepts for the presentation of NOAs research acitivites to the public and pupils of different levels.
Together with PhD student Dustin-Philipp Preissler the two PIs Holger Cartarius, with expertise in physics ecucation, and Timo Mappes, the director of Deutsches Optisches Museum (D.O.M.), develop and evaluate teaching concepts for pupils as well as elements of science communication for the general public visiting D.O.M. Following the concept of didactics reconstruction a pupil’s lab is created, in which the connection between fundamental physics and modern science is brought to pupils of secondary school. The stations in the pupil’s lab (to be hosted in D.O.M.‘s modern LichtLabor) will consist of experimental tasks doable by the pupils. Experiments developed for the pupils' lab will in addition be provided in NOA’s public outreach activities, in particular the "Long Night of Sciences" and the “MINT Festival Jena”.
Furthermore “Showcases of Recent Optics Research in D.O.M.” dedicated to NOA’s research are created together with the scientists of the single NOA projects. They usually consist of a poster with a brief and easy to understand introduction to the contents of the research and a mockup experiment. A highlight of the future permanent exhibition of D.O.M. will be a setup for quantum imaging with undetected photons, which will be accessible to all visitors of the museum in an interactive way.
Further activities of project area Ö include a series of NOA science talks targeting the general audience and presented in the historic lecture hall of D.O.M. They are intended to accompany the Showcases of Recent Optics Research, will lower the barrier of attendance and serve as attraction point and effective method of science communication. Preliminary work of FSU Jena includes the maker’s space Lichtwerkstatt, where experience has been gained on public talks, workshops for pupils and university students, hackathons, innovation camps for young scientists, and digital teaching schemes including digital lab courses. Experienced staff of the Lichtwerkstatt will support the outreach concepts of NOA in these fields.
