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My top 5 five facts about SwitzerlandPedestrian crossings in Bern are lined with Swarovski crystals (if newer than 2012)In order to increase visibility during the night, Bern officials are blending the yellow paint of pedestrian crossings with tiny Swarovski crystal beads.According to one engineer, optimal visibility occurs if two-thirds of the crystals are blended in, and one-third is sticking out. Per square meter, 500 grams of glass beads are required.At 11.80 francs per kilogram, the new beads, reminiscent of silica sand, are ten times more expensive than conventional glass beads. The cost of the markings rise by 5 per cent or 25'000 francs for the city of Bern.Swarovski-Perlen lassen Zebrastreifen funkelnGeneva has a pretty amazing river confluenceThe Rhône and Arve rivers collide in Geneva, as seen in this incredible photograph. The river on the left is the Rhône, which is leaving Lac Leman. The river on the right is the Arve, which receives water from the many glaciers of the Chamonix valley before flowing north-west into the Rhône on the west side of Geneva.The much higher levels of silt bring forth a striking contrast between the two rivers.Switzerland is considered the most democratic country that ever existed and the only semi-direct democracy to date.E.g. 100'000 Swiss can demand that the Constitution be revised via referendum.Any Swiss citizen or party may challenge a law that has been passed by both chambers of parliament. If they are able to gather 50'000 signatures against a particular law within 100 days, a national vote has to be scheduled where voters decide by a simple majority whether to accept or reject the law. This is possible for every law the parliament wants to pass.There is a second possibility: To delete something already written in the constitution or directly add something new to it (almost never the case) 100,000 voters' signatures are needed and afterwards a national vote has to be scheduled, which needs a majority both of the number of people and the number of cantons. This is called a petition for a referendum (Volksinitiative).75% of global coffee trade happens in SwitzerlandI bet you never knew that there is a strong tie between your daily Starbucks and Switzerland! No less than 75% of worldwide trading activity for wholesale coffee happens in Switzerland - namely in places like Zug or Winterthur.Like with most commodity trading, the coffee never physically passes through Switzerland. Instead, companies like Starbucks, Nestlé or Kraft Foods have their global purchasing centers for coffee strategically located in this tiny country.The truth about the Nazi GoldThere is an excellent book by the Jewish Norman Finkelstein, the son of two Holocaust survivors, most of whose family died in the Holocaust: The Holocaust Industry (wiki) or The Holocaust Industry (amazon).One example in the book was about the milking of SwitzerlandSwitzerland was under compulsion** to buy so called "Nazi Gold" from Nazi Germany in total worth of 95 million CHF* (back then around 1.5 million). Of this amount, CHF 24 million* were probably related to victims of Nazi persecution this came out in March 2002. (SNB also bought even more gold (worth around 40 million CHF*) from the USA.) Negotiations involving the banks, the WJC, and Undersecretary Eizenstat ultimately resulted in a forced settlement [much pressure from the US and Israel let one assume the WJC probably knew that they can make a lot more with not waiting for the official results] already on November 22, 2000. The settlement of the case with approval of a plan featuring the payment of $1.25 billion into funds controlled by the Israeli Banking Trust.----------------------------The Swiss government commissioned an independent panel of international scholars (Jewis, Polish, American) known as the Bergier Commission to study the relationship between Switzerland and the Nazi regime. The Volcker commission audit cost Swiss tax payer CHF 300 million* and gave its final report in March 2002. The commission found "no proof of systematic destruction of records of victim accounts, organized discrimination against the accounts of victims of Nazi persecution, or concerted efforts to divert the funds of victims of Nazi persecution to improper purposes." In cases where the claimant could be verified but the size of the account could not, a $125,000* award was given. The Bergier Commission reached similar conclusions about the banks' conduct in its final report, and found that trade with Nazi Germany did not significantly prolong World War II.NB: CHF and USD is nearly 1:1* All numbers are inflation adjusted to the year 2000** E.g. "One might just as well claim that with its approach, the SNB had effectively prevented Switzerland from using the convertibility of its currency as a trump card in the economic negotiations with Germany, thus neutralising the dissuasive potential." (Independent Commission of Experts Switzerland - World War II, final report, p. 247f)Quoted from the following English Wikipedia articles:World Jewish Congress lawsuit against Swiss banksBergier commissionWorld Jewish CongressWhat's more:With 45 nominations for the 'Righteous Among the Nations', Switzerland is the No. 1 country with the most nominations among the countries not involved in WWII.With 300'000 refugees and a total number of only 4M citizens, 13.5% of all inhabitants of Switzerland were refugees during WWII. Most stayed after the end of the war and made Switzerland one of the most ethnically mixed countries in the world, as it is today.All sources not yet named and even more facts about SwitzerlandThe creator of this blog has also Quora: Dimitri Burkhard

My top 5 five facts about SwitzerlandPedestrian crossings in Bern are lined with Swarovski crystals (if newer as 2012)In order to increase visibility during the night, Bern officials are blending the yellow color of pedestrian crossings with tiny Swarovski crystal beads.According to one engineer, optimal visibility occurs if two thirds of crystals are blended on, and one third is sticking out! Per square meter, it needs about 500 grams of glass beads.With 11.80 francs per kilogram, the new beads, reminiscent of silica sand, are ten times more expensive than conventional glass beads. The cost of the markings rise by 5 per cent or 25'000 francs for the city of Bern.Swarovski-Perlen lassen Zebrastreifen funkelnGeneva has a pretty amazing river confluenceThe Rhône river and Arve rivers collide in Geneva, as seen in this incredible photograph. The river on the left is the Rhône, which is leaving Lac Leman. The river on the right is the Arve, which receives water from the many glaciers of the Chamonix valley before flowing north-west into the Rhône on the west side of Geneva.The much higher levels of silt bring forth a striking contrast between the two rivers.Switzerland is considered the most democratic country ever existed and the only semi-direct democracy to date.E.g. can 100'000 Swiss demand that the Constitution be revised via referendum.Any Swiss citizen or a party may challenge a law that has been passed by both chambers of parliament. If they are able to gather 50'000 signatures against a particular law within 100 days, a national vote has to be scheduled where voters decide by a simple majority whether to accept or reject the law. This is possibly for every law the parliamant want to pass.There is a second possibility: To delete something already written in the constitution or directly add something new to it (almost ever the case) it needs 100,000 voters' signatures and afterwards a national vote has to be scheduled, which needs a majority of both number of people and number of cantons. This is called petition for a referendum (Volksinitiative).75% of global coffee trade happens in SwitzerlandI bet you never knew that there is a strong tie between your daily Starbucks and Switzerland! No less than 75% of worldwide trading activity for wholesale coffee happens in Switzerland - namely in places like Zug or Winterthur!Like with most commodity trading, the coffee never physically passes through Switzerland. Instead, companies like Starbucks, Nestlé or Kraft Foods have their global purchasing centers for coffee strategically located in this tiny country!The truth about the Nazi GoldThere is an excellent book from the Jewish Norman Finkelstein the son of two Holocaust survivors, most of whose family died in the Holocaust: The Holocaust Industry (wiki) or The Holocaust Industry (amazon).One example in the book was about the milking of SwitzerlandSwitzerland was under compulsion** to buy so called "Nazi Gold" from Nazi Germany in total worth of 95 million CHF* (back then around 1.5 million). Of this amount, CHF 24 million* were probably related to victims of Nazi persecution this came out in March 2002. (SNB also bought even more gold (worth around 40 million CHF*) from the USA.) Negotiations involving the banks, the WJC, and Undersecretary Eizenstat ultimately resulted in a forced settlement [much pressure from the US and Israel let one assume the WJC probably knew that they can make a lot more with not waiting for the official results] already on November 22, 2000. The settlement of the case with approval of a plan featuring the payment of $1.25 billion into funds controlled by the Israeli Banking Trust.----------------------------The Swiss government commissioned an independent panel of international scholars (Jewis, Polish, American) known as the Bergier Commission to study the relationship between Switzerland and the Nazi regime. The Volcker commission audit cost Swiss tax payer CHF 300 million* and gave its final report in March 2002. The commission found "no proof of systematic destruction of records of victim accounts, organized discrimination against the accounts of victims of Nazi persecution, or concerted efforts to divert the funds of victims of Nazi persecution to improper purposes." In cases where the claimant could be verified but the size of the account could not, a $125,000* award was given. The Bergier Commission reached similar conclusions about the banks' conduct in its final report, and found that trade with Nazi Germany did not significantly prolong World War II.NB: CHF and USD is nearly 1:1* All numbers are inflation adjusted to the year 2000** E.g. "One might just as well claim that with its approach, the SNB had effectively prevented Switzerland from using the convertibility of its currency as a trump card in the economic negotiations with Germany, thus neutralising the dissuasive potential." (Independent Commission of Experts Switzerland - World War II, final report, p. 247f)Quoted from the following english Wikipedia articles:World Jewish Congress lawsuit against Swiss banksBergier commissionWorld Jewish CongressWhat more:With 45 nominations for the 'Righteous Among the Nations'. Switzerland is the No 1 country with the most nominations under the not in WW II involved countires.With 300'000 refugees and a total number of only 4M citizens, 13.5% of all inhabitants of Switzerland were refugees during WWII. Most stayed after the end of the war and made Switzerland one of the most ehtnically mixed countries in the world, it is today.Sources not yet named (2&4) and even more facts about Switzerland

An after school science club I did some work with were set an interesting task of trying to do 3D photography. They had to research on the internet for methods and then try them all out to see which was the best.I'd work afterschool science around some form of recognised award like the British Association for the Advancement of Science bronze, silver and gold awards. These involve carrying out experiments to earn the awards. That means they gain something potentially CVable if they complete the awards.I'd also consider some form of long term project. I may even, depending on the student, allow them to plan their own project with appropriate support. So they go from the planning stage through carrying out the experiment and finally producing a report on the results.The important thing about science clubs is to make them fun and interesting - engaging for the students. I might even consider discussing with the students the sort of things they are interested in and seeing if that gives you any ideas.