The craft of light

It is almost like magic: You take light, 'just' light. And you cut with it through thick metal or weld two peaces of metal together. Or you use it to operate an eye to safe someone from becoming blind. You send light through water to make it drinkable. You take light to store all those information your grandparents had collected in huge libraries on a small disk you can hold in your hand. You send your ideas around the world - with the speed of light. And you use light to explore your world; to explore our vast universe as well as the tiny world of atoms.

Maybe this sounds like magic, but it's not. Light has this power, it's all about knowing how to control it. That exactly is photonics.

The Photonics Explorer will help your teacher to show you this exciting world of light in your classroom. But not only to just show it to you: you yourself have to take it into your own hands - literally. You will get to conduct your own experiments, to make your own discoveries, your own measurements, come up with your own explanations and test them in new experiments. Don't worry, your teacher will give you the 'right' answers after you did your research. Still, you will be surprised how far you can get on your own, with just some questions guiding you along the way. Because the fun of science - just like with art or sport - is not so much about what other people have done, but what you can do.

Fast Answers

What is it all about?

The Photonics Explorer program will equip Europe’s secondary schools with up-to-date educational material on topics related to light and its technical use. The Photonics Explorer provides teachers with a class-set of components for hands-on experiments together with an inquiry-based didactic framework. It will be distributed free-of-charge and support teachers to engage, excite and educate students about the fascination of working with light.

What is photonics?

Photonics is the art of making light work for you. Just as electronics has changed the world by turning electrons into our every-day workhorses, photonics has changed our way of living by harnessing photons, small energy-units of light. We use them to carry information around the globe (e.g. for the internet), to generate electric energy, to detect diseases and heal, to cut and weld metal, to measure without touching or simply to read when it's dark outside. From the generation and shaping of light, to the transportation to its destination and its exactly controlled impact, photonics encompasses all aspects of handling electromagnetic radiation.

Why is it needed?

As more as teenagers like to possess and use the latest technological gadgets, as less they seem to be interested in what actually happens behind the user interface. At the same time, our society and everyone individually becomes increasingly dependent on science and technological progress. This raises the questions: Who is going to work on the scientific answers to the challenges we face as a society? How can we motivate young people to engage in the informed discussion about steering the efforts of scientists and the responsible use of technology?

The best place to raise young people’s interest in sciences is at school. Teachers play a key role in encouraging the next generation of scientists and engineers. The Photonics Explorer program therefore aims to support teachers in their efforts to make science an exciting and fun subject, while giving students a clear understanding of physical concepts and showing their relevance to the student’s every-day life.

For whom?

The work in this program is done for school kids. To make them experience the fascination of working with light first-hand, the Photonics Explorer will equip teachers for more engaging and exciting science lessons.

Who are we?

The Photonics Explorer program is teaming up teachers, scientists in pedagogy and experts in photonics to design an intra-curricula educational kit for secondary schools. More than 30 educators from 10 countries volunteer their time and expertise to ensure a high educational value and an easy integration of the material into the regular teaching.

This educational program is actively supported by sponsoring companies from several European countries.

The program is coordinated at the Vrije Universiteit Brussel (Belgium) and scientifically evaluated by the Leibniz Institute for Science and Mathematics Education in Kiel (Germany).

How can I get involved?

The Photonics Explorer program builds on the enthusiasm of many volunteers that donate their time and expertise to improve science education in Europe. There are several ways you too can get involved, and each support is appreciated: