NaWik

In search of the smallest known particles...
To end the search, the world's largest scale - the KATRIN experiment - was set up in Karlsruhe at the KIT (Karlsruhe Institute of Technology).
There, researchers from all over the world are trying to discover the mass of neutrinos. The weight of the particles is one of the very few remaining secrets of astro- and particle physics. KATRIN (Karlsruhe Tritium Neutrino Experiment) is a 40m long experiment to determine the neutrino mass. Since the structure and the measuring procedure are quite complex, the NaWik (National Institute for Scientific Communication) tries to make the principle and thus the experiment clear to test persons by showing explanation films. However, often a linear film is not sufficient.
Developing a virtual reality tour that takes the user into the real environment, where normally only researchers are on the move, enables a new learning behavior. In addition, we offer the user the opportunity to watch KATRIN with a virtual tablet and explore how the particles move in it.

Furthermore, for the first time we offer the user the possibility to act with objects like in a VR video game. All this, quite normally via the user's own web browser. With virtual hands a tablet can be controlled, with which users can research KATRIN directly.
This makes the learning result much more immersive and intensive. In addition, the user is accompanied along the experiment by a nice young physicist who explains all information and facts in detail.