What is the international Physics Tournament?
Each spring, for the past 21 years, tens of highly talented
High-school students from around the globe arrive at the Davidson
Institute of Science Education, the educational arm of the Weizmann Institute
of Science in Israel, to take part in the International Physics Tournament,
also known as the "Safe Cracking"
Tournament.
The
Annual International Shalheveth Freier Physics Tournament began at the Weizmann
Institute of Science in 1995. This unique tournament encourages teams of high
school students to design and build a "safe" which
has a locking mechanism based on principles of Physics. The participants work in
teams of up to five students. The teams are challenged to put their knowledge
and safes to the test through competing in the tournament, where they
"break" into each other’s safes by
solving the physics riddles.
Throughout the tournament, the participants gain experience in
building systems that they invent, based on principles of Physics. It is a
unique opportunity for students to put physical principles and their imagination into practice –
it is a totally different, enjoyable, exciting and encouraging way of learning
physics and entrepreneurship.
The International Competition
takes place annually in March/April at the Weizmann Institute of Science in
Rehovot, Israel, over two days. On April 5th
2016, 30 teams (15 Israeli teams and 15 from abroad) competed with each
other, trying to “break” into the safes of the other teams.
The performance of each team was assessed by a team of judges -
academic staff from the Weizmann institute and the Davidson Institute.
The criteria on which the teams were judged
included the originality of the physics concept, the way in which the concept
was applied and the endurance of
the safe against the break-ins.
The
tournament concluded with a closing ceremony held on April 6th,
and prizes were awarded to the winning teams
by the CEO of the Davidson Institute of Science
Education.
In 2016 we hosted teams from: USA (5 teams), Canada (2 teams), UK
(3 teams), Panama, Romania, Slovenia (2 teams) and Angola. The
teams from Canada, Panama and the UK were the winners of their national Physics
Tournament. We encourage more countries to participate and to organize local
competitions, like the ones held in Canada, the UK and Panama.
The Davidson Institute of Science Education specializes
in the fields of mathematics, natural sciences and technology education, exploiting knowledge and
experience gained from implementing a wide variety of programs. The Davidson
Institute is nestled at The Weizmann Institute of Science, one of the world’s
leading multidisciplinary research institutions. A unique
asset of the Davidson Institute is the participation in its programs of
numerous active Weizmann Institute research scientists, and the involvement of
members of Weizmann’s Department of Science Teaching.
General information for the tournament of 2017
Age of Participants:
The competition is open to students in grade 11th and 12th.
Prerequisite: Advanced high school physics.
Each team of students (up to 5 members) should be accompanied by only
one
teacher or accompanying adult.
Program Schedule
The program begins on Monday March 27th at 9:00
am.
March 26th
– Arrival and check in
March 27th
–
09:00-13:30
– Safe inspections
13:30-14:30
– Lunch
14:30-16:30
– Visit to the “Clore garden of science”
17:00-19:00
– Opening event and dinner
March 28th
– Day of the tournament
March 29th
– Exhibition and closing ceremony
March 30h
– Check out
Each team is required to arrive at the Weizmann Institute on
Sunday, March 26th.
On Monday the 27th 9:00-13:30 all
safes
must be inspected by our scientific coordinators in order to make
sure they are safe to use and work properly. An opening event will take place
in the afternoon of the 27th followed by dinner.
Please note that our
youth village is fully booked year round; therefore booking rooms before the 26th or after the 30th
of March will not be possible.
Participation fee
Total fee per participant: USD $320, including
4 nights
of accommodation 26th
-29th of March (check out on the 30th ),
and catering as detailed below:
26th of
March – Arrival day: refreshments will
be served (coffee and tea, bread and spreads, cookies and fruit).
27th of
March – full pension (breakfast, lunch
and dinner)
28th of
March – full pension (breakfast, lunch
and dinner)
29th of
March – half pension (breakfast and
lunch)
30th of
March – breakfast only
(Please note that dinner on the 29th is at
your own expense)
Transportation
You can book your transportation from the airport to the Weizmann
institute and back through Elad Tours:
http://www.elad-tours.co.il/en.asp
Transportation (Minibus 10-14 seats)
cost one way is approximately USD $80. With a
small additional charge you can also arrange for a driver holding a sign to
wait for you at the arrivals hall.
In case you are planning to travel in Israel before or after the
tournament you can also arrange the travel through Elad-tours.
Booking the transportation through Elad
Tours
reservation center:
op@elad-tours.co.il
Tel: 972-1-800-66-22-33, Ext #2
– Rami.
IPT 2017 new website
For
more information about the 2017 tournament (registration
form, timeline, rules and
regulations, archive of 2015-2016 safes), see our
new website:
http://davidson.weizmann.ac.il/en/safecracking
Schools participating in the IPT for the first time will receive
partial reimbursement for their flight tickets; the participants need to book
and buy
the tickets and submit the receipts for reimbursement. More
details will follow.
[International programs
coordinator: Dr. Dorit Granot and Ms. Nirit Alon
Contact details:
Nirit.alon@wezmann.ac.il
+972 43178934]
α: http://davidson.weizmann.ac.il/en/safecracking
Facebook page:http://davidson.weizmann.ac.il/en/safecracking