International Masterclasses - bringing LHC data to school children

Abstract

International Masterclasses provide an opportunity for high school students to be “scientists for a day”. 15- to 19-year-old students in countries around the whole world are invited to one of about 160 nearby universities or research centres for one day in order to take part in an authentic research process. Lectures from active scientists give insight in topics and methods of basic research at the fundaments of matter and forces, enabling the students to perform measurements on real data from CERN's Large Hadron Collider. At the end of each day, like in an international research collaboration, the participants join in a video conference with other students groups and CERN for discussion and combination of their results. In 2013, about 10.000 students from 37 countries participated in the program. International Masterclasses are organised by IPPOG (International Particle Physics Outreach Group) and have the potential to add valuable experiences to physics education in school environments.