Learning with passion

Days of Physics: the holiday took place

After a three-year break due to COVID-19 restrictions, the Days of Physics resumed again in Dubna. They were held in a new place - the Lyceum named after V.G.Kadyshevsky, not as usual during the spring school holidays, but from 1 to 3 June, traditionally by the JINR University Centre and the city interschool physics and mathematics elective. So far, the science holiday has not passed unabated, but Dubna schoolchildren and guests were able to try their hand at experimental physics and mathematics, plunged into the secrets of physics, chemistry and biology, admired the colorful experiments with liquid nitrogen and gained new knowledge.

"Since the COVID-19 has not fully receded, we decided to hold the Days of Physics this year in the form of master classes with pre-registration so that the children are safe," Co-Chair of the Organising Committee A.Yu.Verkheev (UC) says. "Traditionally, they are held by the University Centre with the support of the city interschool physics and mathematics elective and this year the event is held on the basis of the Lyceum named after V.G.Kadyshevsky, the teachers of which participate in it. For the first time, lyceum teachers Irina Vitalievna Abramovich and Aleksandr Borisovich Ilyin held an open Olympiad in experimental physics for schoolchildren of the 7th-8th grades. More than 100 people already participate in the Days of Physics (at the beginning of the third day - O.T.), they are Dubna students of lyceums named after Kadyshevsky and No.6, schools No.8 and No.11, Polis Lyceum, Moscow schoolchildren and a student from Zaprudnya. Students of the lyceum help in holding the Days of Physics and students of the Dubna University traditionally work here as well."

"Our old friends from Moscow School No.1514 came to visit us," a member of the Organising Committee of the Physics Days T.O.Yudina (UC) shares details. "On the first day they visited the interactive exhibition "JINR Basic Facilities" in the Cultural Centre "Mir", learnt about the NICA complex. And then, together with schoolchildren from Dubna, they held a master class on building rockets that were then launched at Molodezhnaya Polyana. All launches were successful, everyone was delighted - both the participants and the Dubna spectators walking around. On the second day, Moscow schoolchildren participated in the Olympiad in experimental physics, they performed well. Our Dubna students proved themselves just as well. The Olympiad was held separately for the 7th and 8th grades, the tasks were quite difficult. Unfortunately, there were no those who would have completed all the tasks, but the gap between the winners and the preponderance of the winners over the rest of the participants was quite small, a few points.

Also, on the second day there were master classes in biology that were very popular with children, because they worked with microscopes. There was also a master class in experimental physics, a master class called "Vacuum Post", in which students built a vacuum facility, learned how to construct a vacuum gun. Vlad Kuzmin and Yury Zelenkov, organisers of this master class, showed how the cannon was constructed, how it worked - loudly and spectacularly. Physical experiments were demonstrated by Ivan Alekseevich Lomachenkov (UC) together with schoolchildren-participants of the elective in experimental physics of the UC. An experimental hall was organised where the students could look, try to do something themselves, answer questions. Today, on the last day, we will have four sessions of experiments in physics. One of them is about optics; for this purpose, the optical laboratory had been specially darkened so that the students could work with light and color. One of the master classes in physics will be dedicated to measuring the radioactivity of products, in the other one the children will learn how an energy generator operates. There is a quiz in chemistry, we wait for guests from the boarding house of the Ministry of Internal Affairs. The girls, unfortunately, are late - the bus broke down, but we wait for them."

"Who conducts master classes and experiments?"

"The chemistry quiz is traditionally conducted by the employees of the Dubna University N.A.Polotnyanko and I.N.Fadeykina, a master class in biology is conducted by the lyceum teacher A.S.Marchenko, the JINR employees Vlad Kuzmin and Yury Zelenkov conduct elective courses at the lyceum. We also had math battles: the qualifying rounds took place on 1 June; Dubna teams - the lyceum named after Kadyshevsky and the lyceum No.6, the school No.8, mixed teams participated in them. In each qualifying round, two teams were selected, they competed in the final. The final was quite successful: two teams took first place, a team - second place and a team - a third place. One of the winners was the team of Lyceum No. 6 that included fifth graders, although initially this intellectual battle was considered for the 6th and the 7th grades. Fifth-graders are big smart kids, they are students of the city interschool physics and mathematics elective. So all the children are happy and we are happy that we gave joy to the children.

This year we held the Days of Physics in a "backstage" form - master classes were only upon prior scheduled appointment, the children came here only after registration and we knew who was going to which room. Of course, I would like all fears about old and new infections to end and we could hold these events more widely, as always - 200-300 people each, with spectators. I hope that next year we will be able to hold them in full format and attract the most important part of the audience - the children from the elementary school. This time they were deprived, because we hosted schoolchildren from the 5th to10th grades and the most keen interest in such events arises precisely in elementary school. They may understand nothing, yet they like experiments, demonstrations of various phenomena so much, they are so carried away! It's a bit of a pity that there were no these children on the Days of Physics, although all the children were wonderful, both the fifth graders and sixth graders were happy to participate. Everything went on positively. This is a holiday and even competitive events are not aimed at revealing that someone knows nothing, but are aimed at attracting children, showing vectors of further development, the limitless horizon of possibilities.

Olga Tarantina,
photo by Elena Puzynina