400 shining children's eyes and the question: "Why do bridges collapse?"

Yesterday, our Director of the Institute of Mathematics, Steffen Marx, concluded the summer semester of the Dresden Children's University with a very special highlight. "Why do bridges collapse?" was the exciting topic of the final lecture.

© Stefan Gröschel

For us as an Institute, it is an incredibly beautiful and important task to get even the youngest children excited about scientific and engineering topics and to break down complex content in such a way that children listen spellbound. The response was simply overwhelming: the lecture hall in the HSZ at TU Dresden was filled almost to capacity with around 400 curious children. A further 150 children were connected live from home via video conference.

The introduction? A true classic in the history of civil engineering

The most famous bridge collapse in the world served as the opener - everyone has probably seen these images: the dramatic failure of the Tacoma-Narrows Bridge in 1940. A spectacular example, wonderfully suited to explaining the enormous forces acting on such structures in a child-friendly, exciting and understandable way - and how important precise science and technology are in everyday life.

The concept of the Dresden Children's University (a joint project of TU Dresden and the Deutsches Hygiene-Museum) stands for science for all - from the very beginning. We are proud to be a part of it:

• Target group: Open to all curious kids aged 8 to 12.
• No elite support: It's not about maximum talent, but about the pure joy of discovery and understanding our world.
• Equal opportunities: The entire program is completely free of charge for all participants.

A big thank you to the Dresden Children's University team for the great organization and to all the little "students" in the hall and on the screens for the great questions! And when 400 little researchers are wildly tapping their desks and stamping their feet - even a sought-after bridge-building expert gets goosebumps. 😊

If you want to find out more about the great program, you can find all the information here: https: //tu-dresden.de/kinder-uni