The day began with an impressive opening lecture by Professor Katharina Franke, featuring striking live demonstrations. Afterward, participants joined their workshops.

In one lab-based scenario, girls investigated a fictional “crime scene.” They collected and analyzed samples, practiced pipetting, compared structures under microscopes, and later examined materials more precisely using laser equipment. Many were fascinated by the microscopic images and documented their findings.

Other workshops offered diverse experiences: students made ice cream using liquid nitrogen and observed how materials behave at extremely low temperatures. Others built simple spectrometers from everyday objects, studied different light sources, and explored particle motion and randomness.

A special highlight was an interactive escape game set in different periods of physics female history. Participants encountered important women scientists from the past, such as Vera Rubin, who provided the first robust evidence for the existence of Dark Matter, Emmy Noether, known for her fundamental contributions to mathematics and theoretical physics, Lucy Mensing, a pioneer of women in quantum physics, and Maria Goeppert-Mayer, who developed the nuclear shell model and became the second woman to receive the Nobel Prize in Physics.

The direct encounters with female scientists sparked interest in many of the schoolgirls in pursuing a future in STEM subjects. Girls’Day at the Department of Physics once again showed how important early insights into research and science are.

The department thanks all participating research groups, students, and staff for their commitment, and the participants for making Girls’Day 2026 such an engaging and inspiring event.