Max Planck Institute for Astronomy - Annual Report 2005
Max Planck Institute for Astronomy - Annual Report 2005
Max Planck Institute for Astronomy - Annual Report 2005
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V.9 Girls' Day – Girls Visiting the MPIA<br />
On April 28 th , the fifth annual Girls' Day was held all over<br />
Germany. This nationwide event is an opportunity <strong>for</strong><br />
schoolgirls from grades 5 to 10 to catch a glimpse of job<br />
areas that are seldom considered as a potential career<br />
path by girls. On this day, mainly technical companies<br />
and departments as well as universities, research centers<br />
and similar facilities demonstrate their kind of work<br />
in numerous events. Sixty girls came to the Königstuhl,<br />
curious to see what they would find there, where they<br />
met very dedicated employees of the <strong>Institute</strong> who tried<br />
to answer their main question: »What do astronomers<br />
actually do?«<br />
This year, Girls' Day broke a new nationwide participation<br />
record. A total of almost 7000 companies and organizations<br />
offering almost 130 000 positions had registered<br />
on the Homepage www.girls-day.de. At the MPIA,<br />
under the coordination of Eva Schinnerer, the girls were<br />
able to visit the workshops of the technical department<br />
and learn something about the work astronomers do.<br />
At 16 stations, a total of 50 colleagues of the <strong>Institute</strong><br />
did their best to convey the fascination of research and<br />
technology. Klaus Meisenheimer offered the girls some<br />
insight into the research on galaxies and showed them<br />
the intriguing sky images obtained by the Gems project.<br />
With the help of a game, other colleagues imparted some<br />
knowledge to the young ladies about the nature of active<br />
galaxies and why astronomers are interested in these<br />
strange objects.<br />
At the laboratory, one of the questions was, e.g., how<br />
a telescope functions in space, where temperatures are<br />
very low. The girls especially liked Jutta Stegmaier's<br />
explanations concerning low temperatures. Jutta is a PhD<br />
student in the team developing instruments <strong>for</strong> the future<br />
HerscHel Space Telescope. A real telescope could also<br />
be examined: Ernest Krmpotic and Stefan Birkmann explained<br />
the working principles of the 70 cm telescope.<br />
The visit to the electronics laboratory turned out to<br />
be a spectacular action, too, since the girls were permitted<br />
to do their own soldering under the guidance and<br />
supervision of Frank Whrel. In the design department,<br />
they tried out the CAD software under the direction of<br />
Monika Ebert, which also turned out to be a magnet <strong>for</strong><br />
the young ladies eager to learn. Another highlight was the<br />
afternoon break, when Werner Laun experimented with<br />
liquid nitrogen and conjured up homemade ice cream.<br />
Other exciting stations were the computer center, the<br />
CCD laboratory, the precision mechanics workshop, the<br />
experimental set-up <strong>for</strong> interferometry, and many more.<br />
The editorial staff of the journal »Sterne und Weltraum«<br />
was also involved in Girls' Day and let those interested<br />
take a look behind the scenes. Maybe one or the other<br />
future subscriber was among them!<br />
Girls' Day is supported by numerous institutions,<br />
among them the Federal Ministry <strong>for</strong> Education and<br />
Research as well as the Federal Ministry <strong>for</strong> Family<br />
Affairs, Senior Citizens, Women and Youth. In 2006,<br />
the MPIA will again open its doors <strong>for</strong> curious, future<br />
women scientists.<br />
(Eva Schinnerer)<br />
Fig. V.9.1: Axel M. Quetz (left) and Ernest Krmpotic (below)<br />
answer the questions posed by the girls.<br />
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