One of the main activities of the Maltese Association of Science Educators (Mase) in 2009 was a visit by Maltese physics teachers to the European Organisation for Nuclear Research (Cern) in Geneva, Switzerland. While every science teacher has heard about Cern, few have actually visited it.
On October 29, a group of 36 local physics teachers were able to visit the world's largest and most respected centres for scientific research. This visit was made possible with the help of Malta Council for Science and Technology chairman Nicholas Sammut, and with the support of the DQSE.
At Cern, the teachers attended a tailor-made three-day programme organised by Cern education coordinator Mick Storr that dealt with different aspects of current research at the centre of particle physics.
Partcipants were familiarised with questions that the experiments at Cern are trying to answer. Questions in particle physics have shifted the focus to why the world is as it is, and some of these will hopefully be answered by the Large Hadron Collider (LHC) at Cern.
During one of the workshops the teachers were able to construct a cloud chamber to detect cosmic rays. These high-energy particles are constantly bombarding the earth's atmosphere.
A cloud chamber consists of a sealed environment supersaturated with alcohol that makes the tracks of such particles visible. Inside the chamber, the electrically-charged particles that move through the supersaturated mist cause a track of ions around which condensation takes place.
The teachers particularly appreciated this hands-on activity as it can be repeated in class, and through it, students are made more aware of the existence of these particles and how they interact in the environment.
The visit also dealt with various aspects related to particle accelerators and detectors technology. The teachers were given a guided tour around the Accelerator Centre, where particle accelerators are developed.
These use electric fields to propel ions or charged sub-atomic particles to high speeds and contain them in well-defined beams. This helped the teachers to better understand the basic ideas behind particle accelerators and how they manage to smash ions or charged particles in collisions.
The Maltese group had the opportunity to visit the building containing the Linear Accelerator (LINAC 2), where the journey of hydrogen protons around the LHC starts. While visiting the Atlas experiment, the teachers were introduced to the technology of particle detectors that help physicists decipher the presence of sub-atomic particles.
The physics teachers also visited the computer centre at Cern, the exhibition housed in the Globe of Science and Innovation and the Microcosm Museum on Particle Physics. Within the Microcosm, the teachers could observe a broad range of demonstrations related to particle physics and Cern's history. They also attended lectures that gave a historical account of the fantastic progress made in physics from 1900 to 2000.
The visit also helped teachers from state, Church and independent schools to coll-aborate together and share ideas. During the stay at Cern, their collegiality was evident during discussions about the latest innovations in science. It was a means of creating networks of educational collaboration among the participating teachers and schools.
Similar visits to European Molecular Biology Laboratory (EMBL), the European Space Agency (ESA) and the National Aeronautics and Space Administration (Nasa) are planned in future.
Mr Schembri is head of the Directorate for Services in Catholic Education at the Curia.