On Thursday, 16 March, Grade 8 students visited the Museum Industriekultur in Nürnberg. The visit consisted of three sections: The evolution of the Industry in and around Nürnberg was presented by a guided tour. Students learned about the glorious start and sad ending of the motorbike factories, the development of bikes and how Steadtler and Farber Castel hand-made pencils in the very beginning. They saw the functioning of a steam engine and a model of the first Bavarian locomotive. The true story of the “Made in Germany” Logo was also explained. Students also had time on their own to visit other sections of the museum: “Structural change and automation” or “Technology revue”, showing Nürnberg’s transformation from the industrial city to a high-rise of services, science, research and educational city.
The highlight of the day was when Mr. Kennedy toured students in the non-permanent exhibit “Kristalle”! This exhibit illustrates and explains the use of artificial crystals in the field of photovoltaics, mobile radio, micro- and power electronics as well as LED lighting. We observed numerous natural and artificially made crystals! The exhibit also explained on illustrated info tables how, with basic experiments in space, the production, the quality and the economy of industrially produced crystals, for example for solar cells, are improved. Students showed a lot of interest throughout the whole day. We highly recommend a visit to this museum and its special exhibit.
Sandrine Bachmann
Laboratory Assistant
