12 kilometers shrunk to 50 centimeters, accompanied by 12 enthusiastic female students aged 12 to 15 delving into its layers. That sums up this year’s Girls’Day at ELEMENTS, held on April 27th at Campus Riedberg. The object of interest was a neutron star. ELEMENTS has developed a scaled model of this astronomical object for science communication, allowing hands-on exploration. The exhibit made its debut at Girls’Day, impressing participants with its “adorable” quarks (as one participant put it).
Camilla Juul Hansen, professor of observational astrophysics, explained neutron star formation using balloons. The girls also enjoyed a tour led by physics PhD candidates and members of the equality council, Angelina Geyer and Laura Sommerlad, exploring the experimental hall and vacuum behavior of materials. A chocolate marshmallow emerged as a favorite, expanding and returning to its original form. After lunch and insightful discussions about physics careers, the participants left with a deeper understanding of our universe and possible career paths.
