A Celebration Toolkit for Schools: International Year of Quantum Science and Technology 2025

The United Nations has designated 2025 as the International Year of Quantum Science and Technology to raise awareness about how the world works at its tiniest levels. Quantum science explores how tiny particles, smaller than atoms, behave in surprising ways. While it may seem like a difficult subject, it can be made fun, accessible, and exciting for everyone with the right approach. This special year offers a perfect opportunity for schools, teachers, parents, and students to explore these fascinating ideas with simple and engaging activities.
What is Quantum Science?
Quantum science is the study of the tiniest building blocks of everything around us. Imagine a world so small that you can’t see it even with an ordinary microscope! In this tiny world, particles like electrons and photons do things that seem strange but fascinating when compared to what we see every day. For example, a particle can be in two places at once or even pass through objects! Light, for example, can act both like a tiny ball and a wave, similar to how water ripples spread out when you drop a stone into a pond. Understanding quantum science helps us create cool technologies like phones, hospital scanners, and super-fast computers!
Here’s how each group can take part and bring quantum science to life this year.
For Schools
- Curiosity Wall: Set up a dedicated space on a school wall where fun facts and questions about the tiniest building blocks of nature are displayed. Examples like “Did you know particles can be in two places at once?” can spark curiosity. Encourage students to add their own fun facts and questions.
- Reading Time: Share simple articles from children’s newspapers such as *Student Edge* that explain concepts like how light behaves or how small particles move. Follow up with class discussions where students share their thoughts.
- Student Presentations: Let older students create and present simple projects where they explain scientific concepts using easy models and drawings for younger students.
For Teachers
- Story Time with a Twist: Read illustrated books that explain complex ideas in simple ways. Encourage students to write their own creative stories about how the smallest parts of the universe work, combining imagination and science.
- Explain Simply: Use relatable examples like ripples in water, soap bubbles, and reflections in a mirror to explain concepts like waves and particles.
- Cross-Subject Connections: Integrate quantum ideas into other subjects, such as using art classes to create visual representations of scientific ideas.
- Hands-on Models and Collaborative Projects: Encourage students to work together on creating visual projects such as posters, presentations, or mini-documentaries on how tiny particles behave.
- Science Challenges: Host classroom quizzes or science fairs where students can showcase creative ideas related to quantum science concepts.
For Parents
- Read Together: Explore easy-to-understand science books or magazines together and discuss the ideas after reading. Choose books like Quantum Physics for Kids that break down complex ideas.
- Curiosity Box: Create a ‘Science Curiosity Box’ where kids can drop science-related questions they think about and then explore these topics during family time.
- Watch and Learn: Watch engaging science documentaries or animated videos explaining how small particles work. Encourage children to ask questions afterward.
- Family Science Night: Plan an evening where everyone tries hands-on science activities, such as bending light through water glasses or creating a homemade rainbow with a hose. Such activities encourage analytical thinking and help children visualize more complex phenomenon later on in life.
- Encourage Questions: Foster curiosity by allowing children to ask questions freely and guiding them toward finding answers together.
For Students
- Fact of the Day: Share a fascinating science fact every morning during school announcements or on a classroom bulletin board. You can begin by sharing one fact every time you see your friend.
- Craft Projects: Make models of simple science concepts, such as atoms using clay or drawing colorful posters explaining how light behaves. Ask your teachers for suggestions and have your projects evaluated by your science teachers and peers.
- Discussion Groups: Form small groups where students can share what they’ve learned and explore topics together, helping each other understand complex ideas better. Your school science club seniors or your science teachers can facilitate these discussions.
- Ask a Scientist: Write letters or emails to local scientists, asking them fun and curious questions about the world of small particles.
- Play Science Games: Play board games or card games where the rules mimic the behavior of tiny particles, making learning interactive and fun.
Why Understanding Quantum Science Matters!
Learning about how the universe works at its smallest scale helps us better understand the world. Quantum science plays a key role in modern innovations, such as faster computers, stronger materials, and even better medical technology. Exploring these ideas encourages curiosity and helps young minds appreciate how science can solve real-world challenges.
By celebrating the International Year of Quantum Science and Technology, families and schools can create exciting learning opportunities that make complex ideas fun and approachable. Together, we can inspire the next generation to explore, ask questions, and continue discovering the wonders of the universe!
A detailed toolkit on how schools can celebrate the International Year of Quantum Science and Technology 2025 is coming soon!