KEK Winter Science Camp Held

The KEK Winter Science Camp was held from December 23 to 26, 2025. This camp provides high school students with an opportunity to experience the life of a researcher over three nights and four days.
The camp offers four different courses, and the ARL is responsible for Course D, "Understanding Radiation." Assistant Professor Nao Higashi of the Accelerator Laboratory served as the camp principal this year. Assistant Professor Eisuke Watanabe of the Radiation Science Center and Professor Masahiko Hiraki of the Mechanical Engineering Center served as instructors for Course D, which had six participants from across Japan (24 participants in total for the entire event).
This year's course covered assembling a Geiger-Müller (GM) tube counting system, measuring changes in radiation meter readings depending on the thickness of aluminum shielding material and attenuation coefficients, and comparing and discussing results with literature values. Participants took an active role in considering what to measure and how to measure it during the camp.
In radiation experiments, it is often necessary to subtract contributions from scattering and environmental radiation from the measured values; however, accurately evaluating invisible phenomena is challenging. The high school students steadily repeated trial and error in pursuit of what they believed to be the best measurement method.
This year's camp also featured extensive facility tours, including visits to the ARL’s Facility, namely the Mechanical Engineering Center, and the Cryogenics Science Center. Seeing the actual equipment, facilities, and work sites seemed to provide them with valuable inspiration. Despite the extremely tight schedule, it was impressive to see them engaging in interactions with participants from other courses.
Although time constraints forced the participants to stop their measurement experiments, and some expressed a desire to continue further, we believe the experience of immersing themselves in inquiry and communicating their activities served as a valuable opportunity for building confidence and inform their future career choices. KEK ARL contributes to nurturing the next generation of scientists through such educational activities.