United by Science: CMCB Welcomed 2,300 Guests at the 2024 Dresden Science Night

On June 14, 2024 the city of Dresden showed its true colors as a city of science with over 900 events at various institutions. The Center for Molecular and Cellular Bioengineering (CMCB) of TU Dresden and its three institutes once again opened its doors and welcomed 2,300 visitors throughout the night. The CMCB offered more than 30 exhibition booths, a variety of lectures, quizzes, a scavenger hunt, and an English-speaking science slam.

The Center for Regenerative Therapies Dresden turned into a vibrant exhibition venue for the night. With over 30 exhibition booths, the visitors could test their sense of smell, observe everyday objects under the microscope, discover the wonders of spiders and butterflies, walk into a giant eye, learn about the superpowers of zebrafish, and more!

Engaging Lectures

The auditorium hosted a series of fascinating talks. Dr. Lukáš Pekárek (Jahnel group at BIOTEC and PoL) introduced the public to cellular condensates and optical tweezers. Prof.  Jared Sterneckert explained how stem cells make the research on amyotrophic lateral sclerosis (ALS) possible, and Dr. Emmanuel Barth from University of Jena introduced the audience to bioinformatics and how computer science can help decipher the mysteries of biology.

An Action-Packed Program for the Kids

© TUD/Martin Kassner

Again this year, kids enjoyed a special program. They tested their life sciences knowledge in a quiz organized and moderated by volunteers from the voluntary social year program (FSJ) at the CRTD. A scavenger hunt, also prepared by an FSJ volunteer, led kids through various activities around the building to collect a secret code for a treasure chest filled with treats. Finally, in a well-attended lecture, Dr. Judith Konantz presented the superpowers of zebrafish and axolotls to an eager audience of kids and their parents.

English-Speaking Science Slam

With the motto “five minutes, one topic, endless possibilities”, seven participants competed for a 300 EUR prize pool sponsored by Friends and Patrons of Center for Regenerative Therapies Dresden e.V. This year, in preparation for the event, all participants took part in science communication workshops offered by Thomas Frei (Audience First!).

© TUD/Magdalena Gonciarz

The event, moderated by Dr. Stefan Golfier (Diez and Kröger groups, B CUBE), saw all participants deliver wonderful talks, making it tough for the jury to choose a winner. Ultimately, Marina Marchenko (Ebisuya group, PoL) won the science slam, followed by Dr. Sonali Salvi (Calegari group, CRTD) and Nele Kaiser (Brankatschk group, BIOTEC) in second and third place. Congratulations to all!

United for Science

The Dresden Science Night at the CMCB was made possible by almost 250 volunteers from the CMCB institutes: B CUBE – Center for Molecular Bioengineering, Biotechnology Center (BIOTEC), and Center for Regenerative Therapies Dresden (CRTD), along with partner institutions such as Cluster of Excellence Physics of Life (PoL), Paul-Langerhans Institute Dresden (PLID), and Faculty of Medicine at TU Dresden, Martin-Andersen-Nexö-Gymnasium Dresden, and SaxoCell. The CMCB Board of Directors expresses their gratitude to everyone involved in the event.