5 Tips for the Holidays

Futurium © David von Becker

12.07.2022
5 Tips for the Holidays

Brain City Berlin

Summer holidays – six weeks in which we can explore Brain City Berlin in a completely new way. And not just at the Wannsee or Müggelsee. There are plenty of leisure activities for hobby researchers. And many of them are free. Here are our summer favourites.

1. Observe and make drawings in museums

You see the world from a new perspective through a microscope. And you can discover some surprising details. In the “Open Museum Studio” at the Museum of Natural History Berlin, amateur scientists can explore museum objects such as butterflies, bird wings, fossils or the cast of a dinosaur jaw. They then put their observations down on paper with a pencil. Anyone can participate. Being able to draw is not a requirement!

“Open Museum Studio”, Museum of Natural History Berlin, 20 to 22 July 2022, 12:30 to 15:30, free of charge (the regular museum ticket entitles you to participate). museumfuernaturkunde.berlin (Link in German only)

2. Discuss the city of the future

A visit to the Berlin Futurium is always worthwhile. The interactive exhibition uses many objects and thought spaces to encourage people to think about the interaction of people, nature and technology and to deal with the challenges of the future. During the summer holidays, the “House of Futures” not only offers free guided tours on various topics, but also workshops - for example on the topic of 3D printing. From 13 July a three-day open holiday workshop will also take place in the Futurium Lab. The main topic here is: What does the city of the future look like?

Holiday workshop in the Futurium Lab, 13 July 2022, 3 days, 11:00 to 16:00. Tickets: 20 EUR; Dates and registration – also free guided tours – at: https://futurium.de/de/veranstaltungen

3. Research at the bathing lake

Summer time means swimming season! But science is even there when sunbathing, splashing around and swimming: Various citizen science projects deal with the topics of water, bathing and water quality. In the “Bathing life” (Bäderleben, in German only) project, for example, spending time in your favourite pool can be used to collect information for a nationwide pool wiki. And “Coastwards” is about assessing the risks of the sea level rise using “coastal selfies” from around the world.

More citizen science projects for the summer at buergerwissenschaften.de

4. Sundays at the museum

Whether it be the German Museum of Technology with 19 permanent exhibitions on topics such as “Everything Sugar”, “Aerospace” or “Wind Energy”, the Humboldt Forum as a new Berlin place for art, culture and science or the Pergamon Museum with its numerous artefacts: Berlin’s museum landscape has a lot to offer those hungry for knowledge. Admission to many museums is free on the first Sunday of the month. The next “Museum Sunday” is 7 August 2022. Be sure to make a note. Especially when the weather is bad, it is worth visiting several museums. Around 60 Berlin museums take part.

“Museum Sunday”, 7 August 2022, free of charge, sometimes time slots have to be booked online.

5. Explore the urban wilderness

On the last day of the summer holidays, go outside in the park and learn about nature! Hot summers, heavy rain, insect mortality and species loss make it clear how important the green, blue and dark infrastructure is. Green stands for the planted areas of the city, blue for the water bodies, dark for the areas without unnecessary artificial light at night. The environmental expedition “Berlin: blue. green. wild” explores the interplay of these three natural habitats in the urban wilderness. At the same time, the team from “Campus Stadt Natur” asks the question: How can we discover and protect these places for ourselves? (vdo)

Environmental expedition: “Berlin: blue. green. wild.”, Spreepark Treptow, 20 August 2022, 11:00 to 17:00, free admission, campus-stadt-natur.berlin/blau-gruen-wild/ (in German only)