Long Night of the Sciences 2023
A look behind the scenes at the Max Planck Institute for Infection Biology
On June 17, the Long Night of the Sciences will take place in Berlin and the Max Planck Institute for Infection Biology will open its doors to visitors for the "smartest night of the year". With a diverse program—laboratory tours, hands-on booths and much more—we invite you to look behind the scenes of the Institute and get to know our research.
The countdown for the Long Night of Science is on: Next Saturday, all those hungry for knowledge in Berlin and Potsdam can be swept away by spectacular experiments, exciting lectures, science shows and guided tours. The Max Planck Institute for Infection Biology will be there—you can find our diverse program here and at the LNDW website.
Our institute is located in one building with the German Rheumatism Research Center (DRFZ) and the Max Planck Research Unit for the Science of Pathogens (MPUSP). Both institutes also participate in LNDW with many tours, booths and lectures.
You can buy tickets for the Long Night of the Sciences on the website or at a box office.
Our Program
The majority of our program points is only available in German, but many of our volunteers at the booths speak English and will be happy to explain their research to you.
The highlight of the evening is our Science Slam, together with the German Rheumatism Research Center and the Max Planck Research Unit for the Science of Pathogens: Five young scientists, three institutes, one house trophy! You, the audience, can decide who will hold the coveted trophy for the best Science Slam in their hands at the end. It's time to find out from which institute the best show comes. Clear the stage!
Mosquitoes in the middle of Berlin? At the Max Planck Institute for Infection Biology, scientists are researching the infectious disease malaria. Let the guided tour „Das tropische Laborleben der Moskitos“ show you how our malaria researchers keep mosquitoes. In the lecture „Moskitos und Mathe“, bioinformatician Paola Carrillo-Bustamante explains how she uses theoretical biology to research malaria transmission. More information about malaria and interactive games will be available at our information booth „Malaria kurz erklärt“.
We also open the gates of our zebrafish facility. On the guided tour „Tuberkuloseforschung mit Zebrafischen“ you can learn how the lung disease tuberculosis is studied with the help of the small fish. You can learn about the technical side of our research on the „Zoom-In“ tour through our microscopy unit—rom fluorescence microscopy to scanning and transmission electron microscopy to live cell imaging.
In addition to mosquitoes and zebrafish, our researchers also work with a familiar kitchen pest: the fruit fly Drosophila melanogaster. On the guided tour „Was macht die Fruchtfliege im Labor“ you can experience live how the little flies are worked with in the lab and at the booth „The fly in the fruit bowl, the ultimate animal model in immune research“ our scientists explain how they use the little fruit fly for their research.
About the Long Night of Science Berlin | Potsdam
The Long Night of the Sciences (LNDW) Berlin and Potsdam has taken place annually since 2001 (with the exception of 2020 and 2021). Between 5 pm and midnight, visitors can expect more than 1,000 program items. The Long Night of the Sciences is largely organized and financed by the participating scientific institutions themselves. It is also supported by numerous partners.