A big day at Archimedes' Sandbox. At the beginning, it wasn't that easy to get the parents and kids out of the sand, even though the Action Day was waiting with all sorts of fascinating fun and events!
Photo: Thomas Langens

For example, you could have a go at operating an excavator and try and manoeuvre a ballpoint pen that was attached to the excavator's scoop into a glass – or even into the neck of a bottle. Amazing how many kids managed to do it, too!
Photo: Thomas Langens

Rocks, minerals, sand - they're all raw materials that are quarried from the ground. On the far left you can see sand from the Nivelstein Sand Works in Herzogenrath. This is the same sand that Archimedes' Sandbox is filled with.
Photo: Thomas Langens

These friendly characters are from the Mining Institute at the RWTH and can tell a lot about sustainable mining.
And why are they standing behind a perforated counter?
Because there are objects hidden in the holes that you are supposed to identify by touch alone.
Photo: Thomas Langens

This is the prototype of the FH Aachen's field robot ETAROB. He can exterminate weeds without harming crop plants. What a smart guy!
Photo: Thomas Langens

In the eXploregiomobil, kids did hands-on experiments under the supervision of the teams from the RWTH Infosphere and the Kerkrade Continium Discover Center.
Photo: Thomas Langens

For example, with paperclips.
Photo: Thomas Langens

This is Maja. She's actually a law student but she's currently doing an internship at the City of Aachen Science Office. Her job at the Action Day? Burying ducks.
Photo: Thomas Langens

Maja buried 100 of these graduate ducks in the sandbox.
Photo: Thomas Langens

Whoever found a duck could get a free drink.
Photo: Thomas Langens

The super-tasty drinks to cool off with were available at the eBar, a StreetScooter packed with cocktail mixing tech. You could choose between a Long Island Einstein, a Bloody Marie Curie, an Archimedes' Shower, and so on and so forth.
All of them alcohol-free, of course.
Photo: Thomas Langens

While some were having a go at excavating, the participants of the Archimedes' Workshop were busy carrying on with the construction of their interactive maze.
Photo: Thomas Langens

And having a snack in between...
Anyone who wants to get involved in the maze construction can join in at any time. Just register with one of the people in the white Future Lab T-shirts.
Then you can have more action, even after the Action Day over!
Photo: Thomas Langens