From 24 to 26 June 2024, the Joint Institute for Nuclear Research hosted a three-day intensive course attended by high school students from Tomsk. Ten schoolchildren and three teachers of the Zaozernaya Secondary School № 16 visited JINR, toured its experimental laboratories, listened to lectures by scientists, and actively participated in workshops on nuclear physics and in discussions of physical phenomena during the experiments demonstration. The visit was organized with the support of the JINR Information Centre at Tomsk Polytechnic University and the JINR University Centre.

The participants of the event shared their thoughts and experiences.

Ivan Gladyshev: “What impressed me the most during these three days were the people, the scientists, and the way they presented information. After all, the way we think and view the world is shaped by those around us. And the first person who comes to my mind when I think about Dubna is Ivan Lomachenkov who showed us experiments and explained physical phenomena in a way that was easy for us to understand. Thank you for such an interesting lesson!

Classes by Yuri Severyukhin were just as engaging. I had shown interest in space before, but he managed to deepen my fascination. And although I used to be indifferent to medicine, I found myself captivated as I listened to the biophysics lecture, later retelling my parents the many facts I remembered.

I also really liked the masterclass devoted to observing cosmic particles, conducted by Gennady Alexandrovich Yarygin, Pavel Semchukov, and Nikita Lashmanov. It was very interesting to learn how it’s done, not just through computer but through a hands-on class, with the help of detailed explanations of the specialists whose names are mentioned above.

And finally, I would like to thank Yuri Panebratsev, who came to Tomsk six months before our trip and told us about everything we got to see now. In addition, Yuri Panebratsev gave an engaging introductory lecture on the topics other scientists covered during these three days.”

Albina Kuznetsova: “On the first day, we visited the JINR Basic Facilities Exhibition, where we listened to a lecture on how JINR was founded, how the world began, and what chemical elements were discovered in Dubna. I was amazed by the periodic table in the exhibition hall showcasing objects made of each element. It was fascinating! I was also interested in the Curiosity rover, for which JINR created the DAN Device that determines the content of chlorine and water in the soil of the planet’s surface. Together with the TUSUR team, we made our own lunar rover based on JINR’s device.

On the last day of the school, we visited the Laboratory the Information Technologies, where we saw the Supercomputer and learned about old computers and various storage drives, including an incredibly large hard drive.

Thanks to the city quest, we got to know Dubna better! It was interesting and emotional. Dubna is a very beautiful city! I would stay here for a longer while.”

Ekaterina Pozhidaeva: “I will remember the trip to Dubna and JINR for a long time. I was fascinated with the Institute’s capabilities. Everything was memorable, from NICA to the Virtual Laboratory. It’s a great honour for me to see it with my own eyes. Scientists are truly the pride of the Institute. I have never seen such smart and dedicated people anywhere else. They are passionate about what they do, interested in exploring and explaining it. I’m grateful to everyone!

Polina Mordvintseva: “I enjoyed the Registration of Cosmic Particles workshop conducted by Gennady Yarygin, Pavel Semchukov, and Nikita Lashmanov. During the lesson, we were taught the right way to work with an oscilloscope. It was the first time for us, but the explanations were simple and easy to understand, and the activity was engaging and informative.”

Physics teacher, Deputy Director for Educational Activities Tatyana Burkova: “Our intensive scientific and engineering course in Dubna has come to an end. This was an educating, captivating, and even fantastic experience. Each day of the visit was different from the previous one. There were masterclasses, hands-on classes, lectures, round tables, experiments, a class for studying particle tracks, a quest around the city, excursions to the NICA Collider, an interactive exhibition, and classes in the Virtual Laboratory. And getting to meet Yuri Panebratsev and our colleagues from JINR was invaluable!

We never arrived back at out hotel earlier than 5:30 PM, but our energetic students still managed to find the time to play volleyball on the Volga River embankment, go to the gym, take walks around the city, and buy souvenirs. Thank you, Dubna, for your hospitality, your people, great weather, and the energy boost!”