Event: Kinderuni

Microscopy Day

10 Sep 2016 10:00 - 14:00 — Research Center caesar

There was so much interest in last year`s Microscopy Day, a special event we organised for the Kinderuni (Children’s university), that we have decided to offer it again in 2016. This time we provide an English version as well for the children of the many international guests in Bonn.

Note for our German visitors: Informationen über die Kinderuni auf Deutsch (10 bis 12 Uhr) und das entsprechende Registrierungsformular finden Sie hier.

The University of Bonn has been successfully organising the Kinderuni - a series of talks for very young junior scientists - for many years. In 2016, we will repeat what we did in our anniversary year and make our contribution to the Kinderuni with a special event, a Microscopy Day , on 10th September. Children aged between 8 and 12 are invited to take part. In total, 70 children can participate. After a talk entitled "Journey into the nanoworld", we will offer three workshops in parallel in both workshop phases. The workshops are introduced below.

Program offered in English

Dr. Stephan Irsen

Head of electron microscopy at caesar

What does a cell look like? Where does the colour of a butterfly`s wing come from? How does a fly clean its eyes? The world is incredibly fascinating when one looks at the smallest components under the microscope. We get to know the different types of microscope on an exciting imaginary pictorial journey into the micro-cosmos of a butterfly, and gain an impression of the fascinating relationships in the nanoworld.

Timetable

Start Topic

14:00

Journey into the nanoworld

14:30

Break

14:45

First workshop phase

15:15

Break

15:30

Second workshop phase

16:00

End

Workshops

Workshop I: From the eye of a needle to ciliates - have a go at optical microscopy

We use various optical microscopes to explore the world of tiny things, find out about insects and plants. Which secrets can we uncover? What is it like to come “face to face” with them? We will also observe various organisms which live in the pond water. Come along with us on a journey of discovery through the micro-cosmos!

Maximum number of participants: 30

Workshop II: How does an electron microscope work?

How do we make the images that were shown in the talk? First, we look at the facilities in the lab. Afterwards, we learn in a live demonstration how an electron microscope works and try to generate the images from the talk ourselves.

Maximum number of participants: 30

Workshop III: The golden fly

In order to be able to observe an object - a fly for example - in an electron microscope, we first have to prepare it properly. This is called sample preparation. We coat a sample with an ultrathin layer of gold, and try to flash-freeze a sample.

Maximum number of participants: 10

Research Center caesar
Ludwig-Erhard-Allee 2
53175 Bonn