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THUMBS UP
Anniversary year
200 years: Hermann von Helmholtz
He devoted himself to optics and acoustics, researched questions of geology, meteorology and thermodynamics: Hermann von Helmholtz (1821–1894) is considered one of the last polymaths. His drive to get to the bottom of the phenomena of our world is still a model for many researchers today. It is not without reason that the Helmholtz Association, to which Forschungszentrum Jülich also belongs, named itself after this exceptional natural scientist. This year, its namesake celebrates a special anniversary: on 31 August, the scientist would have turned 200. Congratulations!
helmholtz200.de (German website)
Virtual tours
Visit museums from your sofa
Corona has severely restricted public life – even museums are affected. Some institutions, however, have opened their doors virtually and invite visitors to take an interactive tour. For example, culture and technology enthusiasts can explore the Deutsches Museum in Munich from home, marvelling at permanent exhibit highlights such as the telescope of the Bavarian optician Fraunhofer or the table on which the atomic age began with the first nuclear fission in 1938.
Experimenting at home
Taking off like a rocket
“What happens when the polar ice caps melt?”, or “Let’s build a rocket engine”: with a wide variety of offers, the 30 Helmholtz school labs show how children and young people can get a taste of research and understand the scientific connections by means of doing their own experiments. The experiments are presented in videos, comics and brochures so that everyone can turn their home into a research laboratory – not only in times of a pandemic.
helmholtz.de/forschung/aktuelles/experimente-fuer-zuhause (German website)
PHOTOS: Deutsches Museum, Helmholtz