© DPG / Durand Mitre 2014

PiA - Physics in Advent

Since 2013, a very special kind of Advent calendar has been held annually during the Advent season: a physical Advent calendar. "PiA - Physics in Advent" is offered in cooperation with the Georg-August-University Göttingen, the Wilhelm and Else Heraeus Foundation, the German Physical Society, the Austrian Physical Society, the Swiss Physical Society and the European Physical Society.

With PiA - Physics in Advent we present 24 small simple experiments and physical puzzles to young researchers and all those who enjoy it. These are intended to awaken the joy of experimenting on one's own or to create excitement while watching. Every day from 1 to 24 December, a video will present an experiment that can be copied. The questions can then be answered on the website www.physik-im-advent.de. The physical question raised in the experiment will also be resolved the following day by video.

Who can take part?

Pupils from grades 5 to 10, complete class groups or even entire schools can take part. Younger or older pupils, parents, students or teachers are also welcome to take part.

What can you win?

Apart from the fun of experimenting, there are also prizes to be won. Prizes are awarded for the best answers from individual pupils, classes and schools at different ages. On the Advent weekends there are also special prizes to be won. The answers from Saturday and Sunday will be combined and prizes will be drawn from the best answers. Each participant or participating institution will also receive a certificate with the personal results.

How can I participate?

  1. You can register: To participate in PiA - Physics in Advent you have to register - every year a new registration is required. With this you get your own participant account, with which you have an overview of the tasks and solutions given.
  2. Solve tasks: Every morning in Advent at 5:00 a.m. a new task is unlocked. The solution can then be submitted on the same day until 23:00 by selecting one of the four given answers. Exception: For the solution of the weekend tasks (Saturday and Sunday) you have until the following Monday (23:00).
  3. View solutions: The solution films of each task will also be unlocked at 5:00 a.m. in the morning after the deadline for solutions has expired. These can be viewed on the website. It is worth watching, because there is an additional joker for watching ten solution videos!
  4. Certificate and prize-giving: From 25 December, you can see the total number of points and you will automatically be entered into the prize-giving process. Until 31 January, each participant will have a personal certificate to print out.
  5. Take part again next year!

www.physik-im-advent.de

On the DPG's YouTube channel you can watch old PiA videos and use them for school lessons, for example.