Last Saturday night, the labs and corridors of Leibniz University Hannover became a playground of discovery for our youngest explorers. As part of “The Night that Creates Knowledge”, the team from Quantum Valley Lower Saxony hosted a hands-on science adventure for children: “Raiders of the Lost Quantum.”
At five interactive stations, kids could trap, transport, entangle, detect, and store ions, solving small challenges and collecting stamps along the way. Through playful, hands-on activities, they dived into the mysteries of quantum physics. The program was complemented by exciting games, including QuantumFrontiers’ “Sciddle the Riddle” and the BMFTR-funded game “Quantista” from Prof. Stefanie Kroker and the Technical University of Braunschweig.
The result was pure joy and curiosity, exceeding our expectations. Over 200 children became real quantum explorers for a day. Parents shared their gratitude, children proudly showed off their completed station cards, and many left with prizes and even greater enthusiasm. Some kids intuitively grasped concepts like qubits and photons, demonstrating that even the youngest minds can engage with complex ideas when discovery feels like play.
We are especially grateful to the team who made the evening possible: Sophie Najwa Al-Zaki, David Christoph Stuhrmann, Tobias Pootz, Lars Krieger, Vanessa Wienzek, Florian Ungerechts, Ali Lezeik, Sabine Moehlmann, Tim Meyer, Fritz Schulze-Wischeler, the Laboratory of Nano and Quantum Engineering, phaeno gGmbH, Dominik Essing, and Tobias Froböse. From brainstorming and designing activities to guiding children patiently through each task, your creativity and dedication made the night truly special.
If “The Night that Creates Knowledge” proved one thing, it’s this: curiosity starts young, and the quantum future might already be holding a stamp card.