Around 900 eighth-grade pupils spent Friday studying physics on the rides at BonBon-Land, in a STEM day taught by upper secondary students from ZBC Slagelse.
The lessons took place at the amusement park on Friday, September 4, 2026. DR reports that the pupils came from schools in Slagelse, Ringsted and Sorø municipalities. Instead of sitting in a classroom, they felt the physics on their own bodies.
Each ride had its own science element, according to DR. On the rotating ride Hankatten, the pupils worked with g-force, the load normally felt from gravity on Earth. In the Cobra tower, they sat 40 meters above BonBon-Land waiting to be released into free fall.
HTX students taught the classes
The teachers for the day were HTX students from ZBC Slagelse, placed at the various rides. One of them was Sebastian Melgaard, who was stationed at Hankatten. As reported by DR, he hopes the eighth-graders picked up some of his own interest in science.
Melgaard said that sitting in a ride and feeling the forces is very different from having them explained in a classroom. He was himself part of one of the first year groups to take part in the STEM day. According to Melgaard, the experience clearly sparked his interest in science.
Mads Munkholm Teglskov, education leader at HTX, ZBC Slagelse, said it makes good sense that HTX students act as science guides. Per Teglskov, explaining speed, acceleration and forces to younger pupils requires them to understand the material thoroughly. That is the way the school wants to work, using theory on concrete problems.
Nicklas Grønbech Larsen Frederiksen, project leader at ZBC in Slagelse, described the day as a gain for both pupils and teachers. According to him, the whole purpose is to see whether enthusiasm for science can be created by letting pupils feel it themselves. He said that is something other than a formula on a page.
Frederiksen also noted that the day is an unusual school day in surroundings children normally associate with fun. As he described it, the setting is looser, the pupils run around, and they eat pizza and candyfloss. He said the mood was high even though the weather on Friday was not at its best.
Among the participants was Aske Hans Jacobsen from eighth grade, who told DR’s reporter that he now has more interest in science. He said learning this way is more exciting than sitting in a classroom. He spoke while waiting in the Cobra tower to be dropped.
DR also named pupils Fabian Kruzie and Emil Nowak among those who took part in the rides. The broadcaster noted that Newton’s laws and g-forces may not be what they remember the day for. Other attractions in Denmark were not part of the program.
