School Lab

Material Research

maximum of 28 participants
grades 7 and 8:  9 am till 1 pm
grades 9 and 10: 9 am till 2 pm
grades 11-13: 9 am till 11:30 am or 12:30 pm till 3pm

How is matter structured? Why do different things have such different properties?

Focus of the day is the connection between structure and properties of materials. The pupils will get to know the shape memory alloy Nitinol: a metal that remembers its former shape. This property is used in various different technologies and medical devices, for example in surgical instruments or dental braces.

The cause of this astounding behavior lies in the structure of its material. A presentation will explain how exactly it works and experiments will give the opportunity of analysing the phenomenon on their own. They will also be able to form their own shapes for the metal to remember. They can later take their own nitinol-shape home. 

At last a quiz in which the pupils can verify their answers for themselves will help to wrap up the day.

Please bring your own lunch.