  The decline in student interest in science and technology is a major concern
in the western world. One approach to reversing this decline is to introduce
modern physics concepts much earlier in the school curriculum. We have used the
context of the recent discoveries of gravitational waves to test benefits of
one-day interventions, in which students are introduced to the ongoing nature
of scientific discovery, as well as the fundamental concepts of quantum physics
and gravitation, which underpin these discoveries. Our innovative approach
combines role-playing, model demonstrations, single photon interference and
gravitational wave detection, plus simple experiments designed to emphasize the
quantum interpretation of interference. We compare understanding and attitudes
through pre and post testing on four age groups (school years 7, 8, 9 and 10),
and compare results with those of longer interventions with Year 9. Results
indicate that neither prior knowledge nor age are significant factors in
student understanding of the core concepts of Einsteinian physics. However we
find that the short interventions are insufficient to enable students to
comprehend more derived concepts.
