Instruments from vegetables and treasure from trash: Some things don't go together, or do they? Curious young researchers will find answers to these and many other exciting questions from the world of science in the 2025/26 winter semester at the Children's University Dresden. They will once again experience the impressive, sometimes paradoxical, but always fascinating topics that scientists are researching.

You can register for the Children's University from 9:00 am on August 18, 2025 via an online form at www.ku-dresden.de. The program is aimed at children aged 8 to 12. The young “students” can choose whether they want to attend the lectures directly in the lecture hall or via live stream at home on their computers. The Children's University is a cooperation project between TUD Dresden University of Technology and the Deutsches Hygiene-Museum.

More than hot air – Children's University lecture program kicks off with the stuff of life

The first lecture of the semester is dedicated to the invisible elixir of life: air. Joined by Neli Wagner and Nele-Hendrike Lehmann, curators of the exhibition “Air. One for All,” the kids will explore how air connects people, animals, and plants.

Waste ends up in the trash can. Then what? In the second lecture, Benjamin Schwan, an engineer specializing in circular economy, will explain why waste is valuable, what treasures it contains, and how waste can be turned into something new.

Robots have long since ceased to exist only in films and comics. In medicine in particular, they are already taking on tasks for us humans. In this lecture, computer scientist Prof. Stefanie Speidel describes how robots are used in the operating room.

The Children's University will end on a musical—and healthy—note in the coming winter semester! Ulrike Gärtner and Albrecht Scharnweber from the “PflanzenKlangLabor” (Plant Sound Lab) will explore how vegetables can be used to make music and what sounds potatoes, carrots, and other vegetables make.

Program schedule

How does air connect us? Answers in 630 breaths and a castle in the air

• Neli Wagner & Nele-Hendrijke Lehmann, curators of the exhibition “Air. One for All”
• September 30, 2025, at 5:30 pm, Deutsches Hygiene-Museum Dresden

Why is waste not just waste?

• Benjamin Schwan, Research Associate at the Institute of Waste Management and Circular Economy at TUD Dresden University of Technology
• October 21, 2025, at 5:30 pm, TUD Dresden University of Technology

High-tech instead of plasters– What will the operating room of the future look like?

• Prof. Stefanie Speidel, Chair of Translational Surgical Oncology at the National Center for Tumor Diseases (NCT/UCC) Dresden and spokesperson for the TUD Cluster of Excellence Centre for Tactile Internet with Human-in-the-Loop (CeTI)
• November 4, 2025, at 5:30 pm, TUD Dresden University of Technology

Sounding plants – What music is in a cactus?

• Ulrike Gärtner, director, curator & founder of “PflanzenKlangLabor” Dresden
• Albrecht Scharnweber, clarinetist & founder of “PflanzenKlangLabor” Dresden
• November 11, 2025, at 5:30 pm, Deutsches Hygiene-Museum Dresden

Background: Children’s University Dresden

The Children’s University Dresden is a joint project of the Deutsches Hygiene Museum and TUD Dresden University of Technology. Please visit the following website for more information: www.ku-dresden.de.

The 2025/26 winter semester is supported by DRESDEN-concept and CUP Laboratories Dr. Freitag GmbH. The newspaper Dresdner Neueste Nachrichten is media partner.

Media inquiries:

TUD Dresden University of Technology
Elisabeth Krollpfeiffer
Tel.: +49 351 463-32485
Email:

Deutsches Hygiene-Museum Dresden
Martin Frank
Tel: +49 351 4846-142
Email: