STEM Travel Experience to Germany: MINT (“Mathematik, Informatik, Naturwissenschaft, Technik”)

By Susy Chu, Science Teacher

During Winter Break, a group of students embarked on the STEM Travel Experience to Germany. They attended with science teacher Ms. Susy Chu, and math teachers Mr. Jeff Rose and Mrs. Laura Kujawa. Our trip included historical/cultural explorations of three major German metropolitan areas (Berlin, Frankfurt, and Munich), as well as thorough physical and mental investigations into several key scientific/technical issues that scientists and researchers all across the globe are trying to solve. Our students learned of wonderful STEM possibilities within areas of collegiate study as well as numerous professional opportunities available to them.  They saw how their current STEM studies are preparing them well for their future endeavors and also witnessed how students/people from many different countries are working together to solve these complex issues. 

The Deutsches Technikmuseum (Berlin), one of the world’s leading museums of technology, offered our students an exciting journey through the cultural history of technology through fascinating exhibitions on aviation, shipping, rail transport, the world of network technology, sugar, automobiles, film technology, computer history, chemistry and pharmaceuticals, and much more.

VR Experience: Berlin, 1985 – Students, using modern VR technology, were able to take a look at history and experience it first-hand: A bus rolls up to Checkpoint Charlie, and the guards block the way to check the passengers. The passengers are travelers to a bygone era - guests of TimeRide Berlin. 

The Electrical and Computer Science Lab at the Technology University of Berlin (dEIn laboratory, Technische Universität Berlin) - Students attended the “Hacking as a Job” workshop. They learned about the skills and training they would need, and the type of industries they would work at. They also participated actively as "hackers" by cracking passwords with the help of the Python programming language, and learned what made a really good password (spoiler: it's not the special characters!).

DLR School Lab & The German Aerospace Center (Technical University, Darmstadt) 
At the DLR School Lab, students were introduced to a fascinating ‘journey into the future’, through diverse interactive experiments related to current research topics: microgravity conditions, virtual spacewalks, satellite-based Earth observations, innovative materials, and robotic explorations.

Dialog Museum Darkness Guided Tour (Frankfurt)
A guided tour through the lightless exhibition course with a blind or visually impaired guide. Students went through different themed rooms, including the DunkelBar, where students had the opportunity to talk to the guide and the group over a drink in the dark.

Frankfurt Night Watchman Walking Tour
Walking through the city at night, students were accompanied by the lamplighter. They embraced the old-time feel as the lamplighter guided them with the glow of his lantern, and discovered the area's fascinating history as they ventured through the oldest quarter of Frankfurt.

BMW Welt (Munich)
As representative of all the BMW Group’s international production facilities, the BMW Group Munich Plant, and the BMW Welt, offered a direct insight into state-of the-art automobile manufacturing, and showcased some of the latest innovations and car models.

TUMLab Robotics Master Class (Deutsches Museum, Munich)
Designed by Technical University Munich and in cooperation with Deutsches Museum, students literally "came to grips" with technology and research. They tried computer programming, controlling devices, designing things, and doing research. Topics covered included robotic programming and assembly line control.

Neuschwanstein Castle 
Neuschwanstein Castle is a 19th-century Romanesque Revival palace on a rugged hill above the village of Hohenschwangau near Füssen in southwest Bavaria, Germany. The world-famous

Neuschwanstein castle was constructed in 1869 by Ludwig II in honor of Richard Wagner, the musician Ludwig

admired most. The castle was initially meant to be a setting for Richard Wagner's opera "The Ring of the

Nibelungen". Ludwig II spent only 170 days in his castle, he died in 1886 - before the constructions of the castle were finished. This was the inspiration for the castle in Disneyland.