From the Classroom to the University Lab directly into the World of Science
What’s better than a lab day? An excellence lab day!
On June 15th, 2023 the TH Köln held its Excellence Lab Day on its campus in Leverkusen for eight students from a total of four different schools in Dormagen, Leverkusen and Krefeld. From 9 a.m. to 2 p.m., it was all chemistry and experimentation for them.
The day started with a 45-minute safety briefing by the Vice Dean of the Faculty of Applied Natural Sciences, Prof. Dr. Dirk Burdinski. After all, safety is a top priority in the lab: everyone - no matter how experienced or inexperienced - must wear a smock, visual protection, long legwear and sturdy shoes.
The students are safeguarded and ready for what they have been waiting for - the lab. Equipped with LANXESS gowns, the students grab their safety goggles and are escorted in teams of two by one research assistant from the TH Köln each. The aim of the experiment was to produce a yellow dye using sulfuric acid. The students worked intently and carefully on the experiment and produced the yellow dye; from a yellow liquid that turned a dark green through a filter, to a mustard yellow powder.
Chemistry teacher Nicole Köntges of two students from the Gymnasium am Moltkeplatz in Krefeld, explains what is so special about such excursions. The two students, Dea Peshkov and Jana Vinmann, are particularly committed and were therefore selected for the Excellence Lab Day. The school management and teachers are extremely pleased about the request and cooperation with TH Köln and LANXESS. The teachers benefit in an especially positive way because it makes it easier for them to make the subject attractive and to keep the students' interest high. But the advantages do not only concern the teachers, but also and above all for the students. They gain an insight into what a future course of study in the chemical industry at the TH might look like for them and can escape from boring everyday lessons.
The day started with a 45-minute safety briefing by the Vice Dean of the Faculty of Applied Natural Sciences, Prof. Dr. Dirk Burdinski. After all, safety is a top priority in the lab: everyone - no matter how experienced or inexperienced - must wear a smock, visual protection, long legwear and sturdy shoes.
The students are safeguarded and ready for what they have been waiting for - the lab. Equipped with LANXESS gowns, the students grab their safety goggles and are escorted in teams of two by one research assistant from the TH Köln each. The aim of the experiment was to produce a yellow dye using sulfuric acid. The students worked intently and carefully on the experiment and produced the yellow dye; from a yellow liquid that turned a dark green through a filter, to a mustard yellow powder.
Chemistry teacher Nicole Köntges of two students from the Gymnasium am Moltkeplatz in Krefeld, explains what is so special about such excursions. The two students, Dea Peshkov and Jana Vinmann, are particularly committed and were therefore selected for the Excellence Lab Day. The school management and teachers are extremely pleased about the request and cooperation with TH Köln and LANXESS. The teachers benefit in an especially positive way because it makes it easier for them to make the subject attractive and to keep the students' interest high. But the advantages do not only concern the teachers, but also and above all for the students. They gain an insight into what a future course of study in the chemical industry at the TH might look like for them and can escape from boring everyday lessons.
