INFN Kids is a physics education project by the Italian National Institute for Nuclear Physics, designed for children in primary and middle schools [1]. It aims to spark curiosity in young minds about science by highlighting the diverse research fields that INFN is involved in and showcasing technological developments along with their everyday applications. The project includes a wide range of activities such as interactive lectures, laboratory-based sessions, guided tours of INFN infrastructures, comics, science demonstrations, and multimedia content designed to introduce concepts of general and modern physics.

The activities are conducted both online and in-person at schools, science festivals, and INFN sites. Since 2020, we have organized an online summer camp dedicated to a theme in physics, presenting webinars where we share discoveries and conduct experiments. For the first time in 2024, the summer camp was organized in a hybrid format, featuring in-person sessions at the Museum of the History of Physics at the University of Padua [2] and online presentations.

The in-person sessions were structured around a brief guided tour of the Museum, followed by interactive laboratory-based activities, each dedicated to a different topic each week. The topics were selected in the fields of optics, acoustics, dynamics and particle physics based on the instruments showcased in the exhibition, aiming to connect the exploration of physical phenomena with the historical context of scientific discoveries and technological evolution. The historical instruments were the focus of videos released online, providing their descriptions to enhance the accessibility of the initiative.

By integrating history with interactive learning, we foster a deeper appreciation for the subject, encouraging children to relate past discoveries to present-day applications. In this contribution, we would like to share the design and outcomes of this activity.

References:
[1] INFN Kids website https://web.infn.it/infn-kids/
[2] Giovanni Poleni Museum https://www.musei.unipd.it/en/physics

Keywords: STEM education.