Project of the Albert Einstein Institute wins first place in the “Science interactive” competition

The award, which is endowed with 10,000 Euros, was presented today at the Summer of Science festival in Saarbrücken.

The team of the Max Planck Institute for Gravitational Physics (Albert Einstein Institute, AEI) at the Science Summer in Saarbrücken is overjoyed: the exhibition "From Newton to Einstein: A Journey Through Space and Time" was able to win over its audience. The visitors decided that the AEI project should receive the award for the best popular presentation of a scientific research topic. A special feature contributed to the success of the project: the experiments were supervised by high school graduates and young students, who served as “guides” to the visitors, explaining the relationships involved to them. The “guides” had great fun acquainting themselves with the topic and passing their enthusiasm for mathematics and physics on to the visitors.

"We are extremely happy that we were able to spark our visitors’ enthusiasm for mathematical ideas," stated Carla Cederbaum, whose research topic is presented at the booth with experiments and exhibits. For example, at the AEI booth, the public can explore just how curved space feels and what it is that is “relative” in the theory of relativity. The basic idea of Einstein’s - mathematically very demanding – general theory of relativity can thereby be experienced in a manner perceptible to the senses.

The money associated with this reward, which is bestowed by the Stifterverband für die deutsche Wissenschaft together with Wissenschaft im Dialog, is to be used for further public relations work. The Science Summer - a science festival with a tent exhibition, demonstrations and lectures – will continue until 26.6. on the Tbilisser Platz in Saarbrücken.