Max Planck-Kinderuni für Schulen

A new project in cooperation with the Botanical Garden of the Philipps University in Marburg offers schoolchildren an insight into microbial research.
First a lecture on the importance of microbiology, then collecting samples together in the Botanical Garden of the Philipps University of Marburg, and finally isolating bacteria in the foyer of the MPI. This is the programme of the "Max Planck Children's University" at the MPI-TM.
In an interactive children's lecture, 5th graders learn what small microbes are, where they can be found and why they are so important. They then help to find some very special bacteria. Coloured bacterial cultures are particularly desirable because they produce natural substances that can be useful to humans as antibiotics or other active ingredients. A week after the event, the students are informed about the results of their research.

In the future, the Max Planck Institute, in cooperation with the Schülerforschungszentrum Mittelhessen (SFM), will offer this day to all interested schools.