Photonlab - Engaging the Next Generation

The PhotonLab is a laser laboratory specifically designed for high-school students and is located at MPQ. Since 2011, it has been a focal point for anyone who wants to learn about light and it was created to show that optics and photonics is fun. Over 21.000 visitors have already taken the opportunity to learn and experiment in the lab. The first offered experiments were focused on optics. Now, the offer has been extended to quantum analogy experiments like a quantum eraser, a bomb tester, quantum key distribution, and a quantum random number generator. With this setup students can observe the wave and particle behaviors of light at the same time: interference in combination with photon counting statistics.

The PhotonLab regularly offers teacher trainings, internships for high-school students, support in more advanced experiments at schools, or guidance in entering experiments in competitions, such as the German Young Physicist Tournament (GYPT). Moreover, the PhotonLab contributed to two BMBF projects: (1) Quanta — for developing hands-on materials together with Deutsches Museum and other partners, and (2) ease-Corona — for giving repeated workshops for schoolchildren who lost motivation during the Covid-19 pandemic. It is currently partner alongside MCQST in the Quan(t)räume project. In addition the PhotonLab offers digital material, such as interactive books, to prepare the school students for the visit, following the flipped classroom method.