Exoplanets at School – an educational program about hunting and analyzing exoplanets – meets the FREI-project

Since 2015, pupils (secondary level, grades 7-10) are able to conduct analogy experiments to explore at the school laboratory of the University of Cologne how to detect and analyze exoplanets. The experiments deal with various methods for the search for exoplanets (transit-method, direct imaging and astrometry), spectral analysis, the temperature of a star and the habitable zone, the greenhouse effect, the atmospheric pressure, the albedo, the influence of the solar wind and ultraviolet radiation on the probability of the existence of life. The experience gained has led to a continuous development of the experiments and the entire project, e.g by taking into account preconceptions of the pupils. In particular, the experiment about the transit-method was revised in the so-called FREI-project. The FREI-project is a remote- controlled laboratory (RCL) which allows to perform various physics experiments via the Internet. As a consequence, the exoplanet experiment – located at the University of Cologne – can be integrated into regular lessons by teachers around the world, since live streams and light curves are transmitted over the Internet. This article gives a brief overview of the individual experiments at the school laboratory and the experiences gained. In addition, the extension of the original transit-method experiment in the student laboratory to a FREI-experiment is described.