With various outreach activities KIT aims to make astroparticle physics more accessible for everyone, not only high-school students and their teachers but also a broader public. A wide range of activities, from public lectures, internships and practical activities for students to art meets science projects are therefore part of our repertory. Partly, these activities are also embedded in the programs of national and global initiatives. There are also close links at European level with the APPEC (Astroparticle Physics European Consortium) Functional Centre for Outreach being located at KIT. A catchy outreach program requires the access to real scienti c data and therefore a close connection to the data life cycle of the research eld. Here we present an overview of our current outreach program.
At discussions on data centres or the organization and maintaining of data life cycles in astroparticle physics one also needs to keep in mind to make data available not only for scientist but also to pupils, students and the broader public, who could pro t from an easy access to data. Especially, since many experiments are supported by public money, we should give back our knowledge and attract young people to science. Data centres can and should integrate a section for outreach activities. Especially the concept of Masterclasses suits to be part of a public data centre. The idea of a Masterclass is to bring real data from experiments to classrooms, either virtually or during a hands-on-lecture given by PhD students. Already during the design of data centers one should keep in mind to provide easy accessible data, a basic analysis concept and an easy understandable documentation and manual. This is mandatory to base any outreach and education activities on such a data center. In addition, also scientists will pro t a lot by such a concept.
Of course, there are also many other ways to attract the next generation of
students to astroparticle physics and to show a broader public this fascinating
research. In the following we will present an overview of astroparticle physics
related outreach activities at the Karlsruhe Institute of Technology, in particular
of the KIT Center Elementary Particle and Astroparticle Physics (KCETA) [
For high-school students we o er a wide range of activities for both, individuals but also groups or the whole class.
Masterclass In the context of Netzwerk Teilchenwelt, see section 6.1, we o er
schools to take part in one of our Masterclasses, the Auger Masterclass [
International Cosmic Day At the International Cosmic Day (ICD) [
Cooperation with local school Since 2013 exists an o cial cooperation
between KCETA and a school close to Campus North, the
Thomas-MannGymnasium Stutensee (TMG) [
Internships Students from Baden-Wurttemberg must complete a two-week compulsory internship for career orientation. For this purpose, a program has been developed in which students get to know the di erent aspects of the work of an astroparticle scientist and also get an insight into other professions, such as electronic technicians or engineers, with whom we work together.
Additionally we o er individual internships in our working groups which are organised according to length and knowledge of each student. This can range from a few days up to several weeks or month and the content and complexity of the projects varies accordingly.
Education section KCDC The KASCADE Cosmic ray Data Center [
The following activities are not restricted to students but in principle available
for everybody, though the main audience is still interested in science. All these
events are not explicitly for astroparticle physics but deal with the science at
KIT in general. However, we only show astroparticle contributions here.
Wissensdurst As part of the EFFEKTE 2019 science festival, the event
Wissensdurst (Thirst for Knowledge) [
KIT im Rathaus Once a semester, one of the KIT centers has the
opportunity to present in the town hall its research to the public [
Open Day Usually every two years, an open day takes place on one of the KIT
campuses, usually integrated into the science festival EFFEKTE. Every
KITcenter has the option to present itself and its research. Of course, this is also
a good opportunity for astroparticle physics to share the fascination of this
discipline with the broad public, which is always welcome. Last year, visitors
to the KCETA tent were able to experience astroparticle physics not only
with informative posters, but also with a cloud chamber and a KATRIN
model and engage in personal exchange with the scientists [
As a collaboration by the KASCADE experiment and Tim Otto Roth
(imachination project [
CosMO The Cosmic Muon Observer (CosMO) [
DETECTORS The Demonstration Experiment with ThErmal Cans To measure cOsmic Ray air Showers (DETECTORS ) was build and developed at KIT. Like the CosMO detectors it is possible to measure cosmic muons, but the detection is based on a di erent principle: Muons produce Cherenkov light in the water lled thermal cans, this light is read out using a photomultilpier tube (PMT) and simple data acquisition boxes. This allows to not only measure muons and their characteristics but also to compare the measurements with pure noise measurement by removing the water. Currently a new version is being developed using a state-of-the-art SiPM sensor instead of a PMT.
Cloud Chamber The cloud chamber is used to make the actually invisible particles visible and can be used at various occasions, e.g. pupil events or Open Days. The cloud chamber was the rst particle detector to make traces of elementary particles visible. A mobile version of such a cloud chamber is regularly used at events of various kinds, as it allows astroparticle physics to be demonstrated and made visible with simple means.
In order to support each other in the eld of outreach, to exchange ideas and to implement projects together, networks have developed at both national and international level. Some of the activities presented here were also developed within and are supported by these networks, e.g. the Masterclasses or the CosMO detectors. The outreach network on national level in Germany is "Netzwerk Teilchenwelt" and on international level the International Particle Physics Outreach Group (IPPOG). Due to a big overlap in science and institutions both networks deal with particle physics and astroparticle physics. In order to strengthen astroparticle physics, also on a European level, a closer cooperation between APPEC, the Astroparticle Physics European Consortium, and IPPOG is aimed at. 6.1
Netzwerk Teilchenwelt (NTW) [19] is a network of scientists from 30 research institutes throughout Germany. The aim is to make latest topics in astroparticle and particle physics accessible to young people and teachers. With real data from research at CERN and astroparticle physics experiments the fascinating world of the smallest particles and big questions should be answered in schools. NTW works with a so-called step-by-step program, both for teachers and students. From the rst level "Experience", it goes through the 2nd level "Mediate" to the last level "Explore". For high-school students level 1 includes participation in masterclasses or similar, in level 2 active participation is required, for example helping to organize and conduct masterclasses or presenting one's own experiences at school, and the third stage requires the preparation of an own research project. In order to stay in contact with interested students after the end of the step-by-step program, a fellow program was developed. Since 2019 NTW has been integrated into the "KONTAKT" project, which has not only high-school students but also the broader public, students, scientists and journalists as its target group. 6.2
IPPOG [20] is a network of scientists, science educators and communication specialists who want to bring the fascination of particle physics closer to the public worldwide. IPPOG has more than 30 members, which are countries, experiments and CERN as an international laboratory. The collaboration forum meets twice a year to provide a platform for the development and sharing of ideas and best practices and coordination of the programs. IPPOG provides a resource database and organizes international masterclasses [21].The IPPOG Global Cosmics group is particularly dealing with outreach activities in the eld of cosmic rays and organizes in cooperation with other organizations the International Cosmic Day and other events. 6.3
APPEC [22] is a consortium of funding agencies, national government institutions, and institutes from 17 European countries, responsible for coordinating and funding national research e orts in astroparticle physics. The APPEC General Assembly gathers heads of agencies around Europe and observers from international organizations such as CERN, the European Southern Observatory (ESO), Astronet, the European Committee for Future Accelerators (ECFA) and the Nuclear Physics European Collaboration Committee (NuPECC), to coordinate a collective European strategy for astroparticle physics, execute the recommendations of the roadmap and to create a forum where future actions are discussed and common endeavours emerge.
The General Assembly (GA) is assisted by the Scienti c Advisory Committee (SAC), the advisory body formed by leading scientists from various disciplines, and the Joint Secretariat (JS), the executive body. The JS is organized in several Functional Centers, one of them located at KIT. The functional centre in Karlsruhe is responsible for Outreach and Communication. In this respect, we are also responsible for the bi-monthly newsletter of APPEC. 7
In the context of astroparticle physics KIT, in particular the KIT Center Elementary Particle and Astroparticle Physics, provides a broad range of activities targeting di erent audiences, from high-school students to the broader public [23]. With this presentation we hope to have made suggestions to make the exciting eld of astroparticle physics accessible to a wider audience in other cities and countries. On the other hand, our activities can also be further expanded and new concepts and ideas are always welcome. 19. Netzwerk Teilchenwelt Homepage, www.teilchenwelt.de 20. IPPOG Homepage, http://ippog.org/ 21. International Masterclasses Homepage http://physicsmasterclasses.org/ 22. APPEC Homepage, www.appec.org 23. Overview KCETA Outreach Activities, http://www.kceta.kit.edu/525.php