Abstract:

This contribution describes a popular-science program which was held during the Night of Scientists in 2019 at the University of Hradec Králové. During this night, various scientific institutions, including universities, are opened for a wide public and they show their research and its importance for the society. Events like this also help to motivate young people to study natural sciences and encourage their interest in scientific research. The popularizing program introduced in this paper was prepared and realized by the Department of Physics at the aforementioned university and it consisted in demonstrating the use of a scanning electron microscope for analysing microscopic solid pollutants from the atmosphere. The content of this program as well as various aspects of its practical implementation are described here. The program was successful and has proved to be suitable for the Night of Scientists. It was perceived very positively by attenders from the general public: they were excited by the possibilities offered by the microscope and also the chosen topic was interesting for them. We believe that our experience with this popularizing program will serve as a valuable inspiration for organizing similar events in other workplaces that possess a scanning electron microscope or similar devices.

Keywords:

Science popularization, physics education, study motivation, electron microscopy.