"We want to take away people's fear of science with simple experiments," explains Heide Beranek-Knauer from the Graz Open Laboratory. Together with Lucas Eder, she primarily organises school courses on interesting facts from the field of molecular biology. "Standing in a real laboratory yourself, picking up a pipette and carrying out experiments also promotes an understanding of research," Beranek-Knauer is convinced. It counteracts scientific scepticism when children and young people experience first-hand what their DNA looks like, for example. "Primary school children encounter our content without any fear of contact and pepper us with questions," explains the molecular biologist.
Every year, Beranek-Knauer and Eder welcome around 2,000 participants from all parts of Styria and neighbouring provinces to their courses, which are usually fully booked months in advance. And they also incorporate the latest scientific findings, confirms the course leader, who is currently planning a new module: "Using the fruit fly as an example, we can better research human diseases such as cancer, cardiovascular disorders and diabetes."
Knowledge is growing
Interesting research findings from the Institute of Biology are also taught in the outdoor laboratory, adapted to the target group. "Topics such as bionics and biodiversity offer particularly good starting points," reports Ulrike Grube. And the great demand proves the organisers right. Last year alone, more than 4,000 interested people took part in a total of almost 230 workshops and guided tours. A good half of them were schoolchildren who, for example, solved exciting biological puzzles on a tour of the botanical garden. "Whereby the location," says Grube, "enables a different and special kind of reception," confirms Grube.
⇒ Find out more about the other hands-on labs, including the flavour lab