Open doors for 60 kids and “the Mouse”

06/10/2026 Science communication

Together with the West German Genome Center CEPLAS opened their doors to provide exciting insights into everyday research.

For the fourth time, HHU participated in the event “Türen auf mit der Maus”. On October 3, children were invited to the Center for Synthetic Life Sciences (ZSL). Under the WDR theme “Small Wonders,” the children worked with the event team to reveal things that are otherwise hidden from view: soil bacteria, leaf pigments, and plant DNA. The focus was not just on observation, but above all on hands-on experimentation and discovery.

Wearing lab coats, goggles, and gloves, the children extracted DNA from bananas and learned how this genetic molecule can be made visible and examined. They also learned fascinating facts, such as what percentage of our DNA we share with other living things—including fruits, flies, and zebrafish.

The groups examined soil samples under a microscope and learned about the principle of fluorescence by extracting leaf pigments. CEPLAS researcher Sabrina Egli and master’s student Dennis Stonawski from the Institute for Cell and Interaction Biology explained how a microscope works and what can be discovered with it.

The team from CEPLAS and WGGC gave a positive assessment: “It was fantastic to see how interested the children were. They asked exciting questions and had a lot of fun—just like we did. A great event that we’ll continue to organize!”

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