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Thermal imaging, luminescence, a homemade camera, and ion identification in the laboratory. During the last week of August, thirty gifted pupils and secondary school students from the Pilsen Region had the opportunity to experience science first-hand in the laboratories of the University of West Bohemia in Pilsen in ways that are only rarely available to them in regular classes. The Faculty of Education (FPE) organized two summer camps for them: one for students interested in chemistry and the other for physics enthusiasts.

"I keep coming back to the camp mainly because of the hands-on laboratory work. It has become something of a tradition for me. The tasks are a little different every year, and I always know I will learn something new – in my case, especially in organic chemistry,” said young chemist Filip Hrůša, who took part in the UWB camp for the fourth time this year. He was joined in the Department of Chemistry laboratories by another thirteen successful participants from the regional round of the Chemistry Olympiad. The secondary school students, aged 15 to 18, came from nine schools across the region, and Filip is far from the only one to return to the camp repeatedly. "Participants keep coming back to the camp. It is clear that they were satisfied, and they also see the camp as one way of preparing for the next Chemistry Olympiad,” said Vladimír Sirotek from the Department of Chemistry, who has been the camp’s academic coordinator since its first year.

This year, the Faculty of Education organized the Chemistry Camp for the sixteenth time. Once again, the program focused primarily on independent laboratory work. The secondary school students tried, for example, titrations – chemical analyses used to determine the unknown concentration of a substance in a solution, ion identification, and other tasks from analytical, organic, physical, and inorganic chemistry, as well as biochemistry. The week also included a field trip to Jince and the Příbram area, with a focus on the history of iron ore mining.

This year’s Physics Camp welcomed sixteen young people from seven schools in the Pilsen Region. Among its regular participants were once again Michal Fišer and Daniel Jedlička from the College and Secondary Technical School of Electrical Engineering in Pilsen, who recently achieved outstanding international success by winning a gold medal at the prestigious International Young Physicists’ Tournament in Switzerland. Together with the other secondary school students, they worked with a thermal imaging camera, investigated luminescence, and even built their own camera obscura – a simple optical imaging device in the form of an enclosed box.

“We wanted to show that physics is not just about calculations, but also about observing phenomena and testing them through your own experiments. That is why we combined Physics Olympiad problems with hands-on workshops and visits to specialist facilities,” explained Zdeňka Kielbusová from the Department of Mathematics, Physics and Technical Education, which is responsible for the camp’s academic program. This year’s program thus combined Olympiad problems in mechanics, electricity, optics, and molecular physics with practical experiments and astronomy-related topics.

Both camps are part of a summer program that systematically supports gifted and exceptionally gifted pupils and students from primary, secondary, and primary art schools. The School Services Center in Pilsen organized the camps with financial support from the Pilsen Region.