Shortly before the Christmas vacations, the MINT-AG of the integrative Realschule plus Idar-Oberstein received some surprising news: The students had won a great 2nd place in the schools category at the ChemisTree-Competition 2022 with their shining "IT-Tree" and the waving Christmas gnomes.
The creative competition is organized annually by the associations of the ChemieAzubi blog. "ChemisTrees" and "ScienceTrees" - Christmas trees made from laboratory materials or technical components - can be submitted. An expert jury evaluates the entries and awards prizes in three categories: trainees, schools and other participants.
Not many Realschulen plus took part in the competition. The organizers of the #chemisttreecompetition received most of the 75 entries from STEM groups at secondary schools in Rhineland-Palatinate. The jury was all the more delighted with the competition entry from RS plus Idar-Oberstein, Rostocker Straße. The "IT-Tree" was constructed by the MINT-AG, which consists of pupils from 8b, under the direction of their class teacher Jochen Jörg. Little gnomes waved at the jury, holding slips of paper with the word "#chemistreecompetition" in fluorescent letters. The Santa Claus robots placed in front of the actual ChemisTree were built using construction parts from Lego education sets and then programmed to play the song "Oh Christmas Tree".
Meanwhile, one by one, the elves held up the slips of paper with the competition motto. Behind the waving Christmas elves, the classic ChemisTree, whose flasks were filled with liquids made from highlighter colors, glowed in the wintry darkness. The glowing effect was created with black light from UV flashlights.