Equipped with rain jackets, and some even with hiking poles, visitors to the Open Day made their way around the Garching research campus. Numerous institutes across the campus offered a look behind the scenes. The Open Day was deliberately combined with the “Maus-Türöffnertag”, a nationwide campaign day of the German children’s TV show "Sendung mit der Maus", and thus also offered many activities for the younger audience.
On 3 October, Munich Quantum Valley, in collaboration with the Leibniz Supercomputing Centre, took part in the campus-wide Open Day at the Garching research campus. The flow of visitors continued until the end of the event.
Learning about quantum computers at the MQV booth
Munich Quantum Valley (MQV) was present at the Leibniz Supercomputing Centre (LRZ) with several talks and a booth. While the youngest visitors were particularly enthusiastic about little "magic tricks" – optical illusions by playing with polarisation filters – or were fascinated to find out how a laser beam can be directed with the help of mirrors and beam splitters, the older visitors were able to find out all about quantum computers. Questions ranged from the underlying quantum physical phenomena to possible applications. Exhibits from various MQV member institutes were of particular interest, demonstrating that there are different hardware technologies for building quantum computers, while also focusing on questions of concrete implementation, thus making the abstract topic more tangible. Guided tours of the computer building were also offered to the guests, to give them an idea of what is involved in combining supercomputers such as the SuperMUC-NG with quantum computers.
Right next to the MQV booth was the entrance to the lecture hall where three MQV members gave introductory talks on quantum computing. All lectures were very well attended, and those who did not have time to ask all their questions during the post-lecture discussion rounds returned to the MQV booth to ask more questions – eager to clear up any remaining ambiguities.
From 10 a.m. until the end of the event at 5 p.m., the flow of visitors never stopped and there was always a large crowd at the MQV booth. The visitors stayed for a long time at the booth and delved deeper and deeper into the various areas of quantum science with their questions.
Various MQV institutes involved
In addition to the LRZ, many other MQV member institutes and partners took part in the Open Day: At the Max Planck Institute of Quantum Optics (MPQ), everything revolved around the question of how light and matter interact. Visitors were able to take part in guided tours of the quantum optics labs, and the Maus herself came by. At the Walther Meissner Institute, guests were immersed in the world of low-temperature physics and learned why quantum computers with superconducting circuits have to be operated close to absolute zero. At the Walther Schottky Institute, visitors learned about the role of semiconductors in quantum sensor technology, and at the booth of the Munich Center for Quantum Science and Technology, guests could learn about the various fields of research in quantum science and take VR tours of various laboratories.
The large traffic jam that formed on the main street of the research campus after the event was over was evidence of the large number of visitors. The great interest and the countless questions were a confirmation for all those involved that the Open Day was a real success.
Munich Quantum Valley played a key role in the central organization of the Open Day, in particular by creating and maintaining the overarching event website.