Simple lab kits use play to teach East African kids quantum physics

Quantum physics is an intimidating subject for most people. The success of a project that distributed quantum science lab kits to nearly 4,000 children in East Africa suggests it doesn’t have to be. With marbles, candies, and balloons, students learned complex quantum concepts, from atomic structure to entanglement — all while having fun.

To use the kits, teachers gather inexpensive, locally available materials. For instance, students using a quantum chemistry lab kit are tasked with assembling atoms from candies representing protons, neutrons, and electrons.

At a school in Tanzania, one group of students was confused when they realized they seemed to be short one subatomic particle, a piece of candy, to model their atom, says Pendo Bigambo, a materials scientist specializing in textiles at the University of Dar es Salaam — until the mystery was solved when one student admitted to having eaten it.

“They were playing around, but they really learned a lot,” says Bigambo, who helped develop some of the kits and partnered with schools in Tanzania to implement them. Even the case of the missing particle became a learning experience that reinforced the lesson.

The kits were designed by Women Supporting Women in Sciences (WS2), an international group co-founded by Jill Wenderott, a materials scientist at Drexel University in Philadelphia, and Joyce Elisadiki, a physicist at the University of Dodoma in Tanzania. The development and implementation of the kits was supported by a grant from the APS Innovation Fund.

The “Q-kits” cover four topics: quantum computing, entanglement, light and photons, and quantum chemistry. For each, the teams made a kit for primary (grades K-5) and secondary (grades 6-12) students. Ten partners in East Africa connected with schools in Kenya, Rwanda, Tanzania, and Uganda to implement the Q-kits, which were distributed in English, African French, and Swahili.

Wenderott says it took about 250 volunteers a collective 1,300 hours to design the kits and facilitate their use in 57 local schools. “The only way we can make this work is with a local network of volunteers,” says Wenderott.

Instead of mailing complete kits with supplies included — which would be subject to the vagaries of international shipping — the team sends manuals and supply lists. Wenderott says WS2 took this approach during the COVID pandemic, but has kept with it because using local products works well and supports local suppliers.

The quantum project builds on WS2’s previous Innovation Fund-supported project to develop physics and materials science lab kits for East African schools. But Wenderott says the quantum topics were particularly challenging. Quantum science is abstract, and its terminology is formidable. Wenderott says the team did their best to make the kits fun and engaging.

Some of the kits directly demonstrate quantum science concepts. During a light and photons unit for secondary schools, students use a laser pointer to measure something thin, like a hair or a fishing line, by creating a diffraction grating. For another activity, students heat sugar to create nanoparticles that fluoresce.

To help students “see” the subatomic world, the lessons use games or models, like the candy-based atomic activity. To convey the concept of energy levels, students make small ramps from card stock and observe the energy it takes to get an electron — a marble — to the top.

“I was surprised by the level of joy that comes out in the students,” says Wenderott. “I was a little worried it wouldn’t translate.” Even very difficult subjects can be engaging for young children if the lessons encourage participation and play, and the kits seem effective in conveying the underlying quantum physics concepts. In surveys administered after the kits were used, primary students were asked to draw pictures about their studies. These images showed a deep engagement with and understanding of complex concepts like quantum entanglement, says Wenderott.

“It was easy to understand because they were learning by playing,” adds Bigambo.

Wenderott’s team aimed to ensure that at least 50% of the children using their kits were girls. Because they partnered with several girls’ schools, they met their goal easily: 58% of the kids reached through the program were girls.

“Women are scientists,” says Wenderott. To make sure kids get that message, the mentors promoting the kits are mostly women, and the student manuals each feature a local scientist who is a woman.

“I visit these schools regularly to monitor their progress,” says Bigambo of the schools in Dar es Salaam. At the beginning of a visit, students are shy about raising their hands. But after she gives a talk and asks who in the crowd wants to be a scientist or engineer, they enthusiastically put their hands up.

Wenderott says the group is now working to expand use of the kits to other countries. Over the next year and half, they will be used in Philadelphia elementary schools, where Wenderott estimates they will reach 750 to 1,000 students. She’s also interested in getting WS2’s lab kits translated into other languages, particularly Spanish, so that they can be used in more countries.

And if the kits haven’t come to your school yet, they are available for free on WS2’s website.