Under the slogan “Catch the splash – Safety Net Contest”, school pupils were challenged this year to make their own net capable of safely catching a water balloon dropped from as great a height as possible. The competition was organised by the “Science meets School” student laboratory at the TU Bergakademie Freiberg.
Both the material and the knotting technique used to make the net, which measured 40 by 40 centimetres in total, could be chosen freely. The mesh size of the net was to be 2 by 2 centimetres. The winning net had to safely catch a water-filled balloon without it bursting, bouncing out of the net or falling through. The winner was the net that safely caught the water balloon from the greatest height – without a splash!
The net that won the main prize was able to safely catch the water-filled balloon from a height of 9.25 metres. Another task for the participating pupils was to document their thoughts on the net’s design and construction, as well as the tests they carried out.
A total of 20 nets were submitted to the competition, which were assessed by the jury on the basis of catching reliability, net design and the quality of the report. The net designed by Philip Helbig, a pupil at the Wilhelm-Ostwald-Gymnasium in Leipzig, impressed the jury with a maximum drop height of 9.25 metres. This was Philip’s fourth time taking part in the school competition.
Prizes for the most creative design and the best report
Other pupils were also honoured: the group prize went to Hannes Estel and Marvin Bloßfeld from the BSZ Meißen-Radebeul. The prize for the best report went to Elara Christel (Year 6) from the Dürer-Gymnasium in Nuremberg. The design prize was won by Maurice Lippert and Josefine Rehagel, also from the BSZ Meißen-Radebeul.
The awards ceremony marked the start of an exciting day of research for the group at the TU Bergakademie Freiberg, featuring a visit to the TUBAF Foundry Institute and a trip to the new university library, complete with a treasure chest game and a podcast about the school competition.
Background: Materials competition for school pupils
The school competition on the topic of materials has been held at the TU Bergakademie Freiberg since 2011. It is organised by the Faculty of Materials Science and Materials Technology under the auspices of the ‘Science meets School’ school laboratory. The “Sachsen. Land der Ingenieure” Foundation supports the competition by sponsoring the prize money of 500 euros. The Association of Metallurgy Students at Freiberg e.V. has also been involved since 2025, sponsoring a further 100 euros.
Contact: Dr Anja Weidner, weidner [at] ww [dot] tu-freiberg [dot] de
