Videos
Videos of the Kids' University 2021
Under the slogan “50 TIMES Kids' University DIGITAL”, we offered children between the ages of 8 and 12 the opportunity to get a sneak peek into the exciting work of researchers via videos.
The videos will gradually be made available here. They include recordings of lectures, explanatory videos and instructions for your own experiments. However, they will only be available in German.
We hope you'll enjoy!
Lectures
About bees
Lecturer: Marie-Helene Wichmann
When we think of bees, we often only think of honey bees, however, wild bees also play an important role in our ecosystem. They pollinate our native cultivated and wild plants, such as our fruit trees and berry bushes. Without them, there would be no more honey and the birds that feed on seeds and berries would also have no more food. So why are bees called busy bees and what is the relationship between us humans and bees? We will answer these and other questions together with Marie-Helene Wichmann.
Fossils - extinct animals from the depths of time
Lecturer: Prof. Jens Lehmann
Millions of years ago, Germany was largely covered by water. Thousands of different species of animals without vertebral column lived in the shallow seas. They lived at the same time as the sea-dwelling dinosaurs and the dinosaurs on land - and were no less exciting. In the lecture you will first learn something about how fossils are created, and then two well-known extinct animal groups will be presented in more detail: the ammonites and the trilobites.
Date of publication: June 18
The landing of the Mars rover “Perseverance” in February
Lecturer: Dr. Marco Scharringhausen
Perseverance landing:
We take a look at the landing of the “Perseverance” rover on Mars in February, how did it go and what was so difficult about it? How does Perseverance compare with previous rovers on Mars?
Date of publication: June 23
Diabetes is no piece of cake
Lecturer: Kathrin Mädler
Over 420 million people in the world have diabetes, perhaps someone in your class or family has diabetes too.
Too much sugar in your body makes you ill. Normally, we can eat lots of gummy bears, chocolate and Nutella. This is because we have cells in our body that can quickly regulate our sugar level. The sugar we consume is converted into energy, which we need to dance, sing, play soccer and think. But what happens if the sugar remains in the blood and the cells cannot absorb it?
In the lecture you will learn what the body does with sugar, how diabetes develops, why diabetes can lead to visual impairment, nerve and kidney, as well as circulation and heart damage, why the cells in the pancreas no longer do what they should and how such cells are tested in the laboratory so that they function properly again.
In the second video, the scientists at the diabetes laboratory briefly introduce themselves and explain what exactly they are researching.
Date of publication: June 07
Research on the Open Sea
Lecturer: Dr. Maya Dalby
Without water there is no life. By far the largest area (70%) of our earth is covered by the ocean. The ocean determines our weather, our air and provides us with food and recreation. What do we explore in the ocean and why is it important?
Date of publication: September 14
World language English: Past, present and future
Lecturer: Prof. Marcus Callies
English is the one foreign language that almost all children in Germany learn first at school. In Europe and all over the world, it is the best way to get around. Even the Internet or pop music (and many other areas that influence our everyday lives) are dominated by the English language. But how did this develop in the first place? Why do so many people speak English? What role does English play worldwide?
Date of publication: September 29
Researchers' workshop / Experiment Videos
Everyday science! What materials science has to do with baking
Lecturers: Friedhelm Frerichs, Nicole Mensching, Anna Strauch
Process engineering, materials engineering, production engineering. Sounds complicated? Yeah, but it's also easy to understand with something as common as baking. Take a look at what we have to offer. We've prepared a video for you to take you on the first part of the experimental journey, and we'll do the second part together with you in the video chat.
HERE you can find the baking instructions for the salt dough.
EXPERIMETAL: On the trail of metal as a material
Lecturer: Nele Woehlert
You will get a virtual insight into our EXPERIMETAL exhibition and experience first-hand what is possible with metal as a material. There are a few puzzles to solve and tricky tasks to tackle on the tracks of metal processing. Of course, there will also be plenty of hands-on experiments.
HERE you can download the quiz
Sea-ice experiments
Lecturers: Luisa von Albedy, Johanna Hingst, Valentin Ludwig & Franziska Tell
What happens when sea ice melts? And what effect does the salt in the seawater have?
Various aspects of the sea, ice and water currents are explored with small experiments that can easily be done at home.
Date of publication: July 28
#Social researchers: What does social cohesion mean?
Lecturers: Dr. Julia Gantenberg & Sarah Göhmann
As social scientists, we are interested in how society works and why there are sometimes problems when the interests of different people clash. We are currently researching what “cohesion” actually means for different people. We want to show you how we do this.
Date of publication: September
What happens when the ice melts in the Arctic and Antarctic?
Lecturers: Luisa von Albedy, Johanna Hingst, Valentin Ludwig & Franziska Tell
We want to find out what happens to the sea level when the sea ice (frozen seawater) melts in the Arctic. And what is the difference when a piece of a glacier breaks off, falls into the sea and becomes an iceberg?
Paul the ship varnisher
Lecturer: Tonya Gräf ( PhD college NanoCompetence)
The video clip “Paul the ship varnisher” illustrates the omnipresent existence of nanoproducts in everyday life and explains complex relationships clearly and precisely. What are nanoparticles? What makes nanoparticles so special? Are nanoparticles good or bad?
The video also presents the research questions and collaborations within the NanoCompetence PhD college in an understandable way.
Date of publication: July 28
Experiments in physics and chemistry
Fire and water - two opposites
Chemistry I
You can put out fires with water and build a simple fire extinguisher with the help of baking soda and acetic acid. But can you also light a fire with water? Using very fine metal powder you can make it work.
Duration: approx. 4 minutes
How to make table tennis balls float in the air with a hairdryer
Physics I
A fan is placed on the floor and blows upwards, and a large balloon floats stably above the fan at a height of one meter without being blown off to the side. The experiment can also be carried out with a normal household hairdryer and a table tennis ball. The physical explanation is based on the Bernoulli effect, which describes the relationship between air flow and pressure. This effect is one of the reasons why an airplane can fly.
Duration: approx. 5 minutes
The gummy bear in hell
Chemistry II
People like to snack after school, and that's a good thing. Sweets contain a lot of energy due to the sugar. The energy released when a single gummy bear is burnt is high. In the experiment, the gummy bear is burned with an oxidizing agent.
Duration: approx. 4 minutes
Three simple physics experiments to do at home
Physics II
Professor Justus Notholt shows three experiments to do at home:
1.) Balance a broom on your finger and measure whether or not both parts of the broom weigh the same.
2.) Spinning two glasses in a circle on a plate attached with threads and hoping that the centrifugal force is greater than the weight force when rotating quickly.
3.) Attach a thread with a small weight to a cup, place the thread over your finger and drop the cup - it won't break!
Duration: approx. 10 minutes
Glowing cucumbers and colored rockets
Chemistry III
A cucumber as a light bulb? Sure, it works and the cucumber lamp glows yellow. The yellow glow comes from sodium, which is contained in the cucumber in the form of common salt. Other salts color flames red or green. We know these glowing salts from the New Year's Eve sky as components of rockets. In the laboratory, elements can be detected by their characteristic glow. This is called spectral analysis.
Duration: approx. 4 minutes
Beer fountain with ultrasound and Cola Mentos spray fountain
Physics III
Beer or cola contain carbon dioxide, CO2. The CO2 is released from the liquid over time, making the drink taste old. This process can be accelerated by shaking or by using an ultrasonic bath. With a beer bottle in an ultrasonic bath, we manage to create a beer fountain almost up to the ceiling. The mixture of cola and Mentos also produces a fountain. The Mentos have a very rough surface with lots of small pores and points where the CO2 can outgas. But please be aware: We accept no liability for recreating this at home!
Duration: approx. 7 minutes
Experiments with liquid nitrogen at -196°
Physics & Chemistry
Liquid nitrogen has a temperature of minus 196 degrees Celsius. At such extremely cold temperatures, materials change their physical properties. Our ambient air becomes liquid, rubber hoses become hard and bananas can be used as hammers. When the cold, liquid nitrogen warms up, it becomes gaseous and expands enormously. This effect can be used, for example, to inflate balloons, to power a steam engine or to create effective explosions with lots of steam.
Duration: approx. 4 minutes
Review Kids' University 2019
With the spaceship across our solar system (Dr. Marco Scharringhausen)
Recording of the lecture from 25.03.2019, 50 minutes
Recording of the lecture from 25.03.2019,
Duration: 50 minutes
Chemistry - hot flame and cold light (Prof. Boris Nachtsheim & Dr. Stephan Leupold)
Recording of the lecture from 27.03.2019
Duration: 64 minutes