This is what the 20th "Long Night" was like for civil engineers

"Smart until midnight" was the motto of the anniversary edition of the LNdW-DD, to which all Dresdeners were invited to get excited about research and science. We civil engineers had also brought out everything to show. The weather forecast was not the best, it was supposed to rain almost the whole evening. For this reason, we took the precaution of moving our stands into the dry, into the laboratories, with the gates wide open. After a two-year break due to the Corona pandemic, we were finally able to welcome visitors again. And they came in large numbers; according to the organizers, there were 10,000 more visitors than usual for the Science Night, a total of 48,000. This was also noticeable for us civil engineers, our halls were well filled until midnight. Many took the opportunity to get an idea of the current research work in civil engineering. Questions about road pavements, large-scale hydraulic engineering tests, glass facades, carbon concrete or concrete 3D printing were explained and clearly demonstrated directly on site. As in previous years, the small task list for our youngest visitors was absolutely popular. At the end of the evening, those who were able to answer all the questions were awarded a medal and certificate as junior master builder. Tricky tasks had to be solved, ambitious bridge constructions were developed and their load-bearing capacity compared or protective devices for flying eggs were invented. At other booths, concrete was mixed or the art of arch bricklaying was tried out.

© Stefan Gröschel