EMBL Hamburg News
EMBL at the DESY Open Day
The PETRA III Hall illuminated
Every two years, the science institutes of Hamburg open their doors to the public for a night of science, and this year DESY combined the event with an open day to celebrate 50 years of DESY. More than 13,000 people visited the DESY Campus on Saturday 7th November between the hours of midday and midnight. Many areas of the campus were opened to the public including the 280m long Petra Hall which houses the future PETRA III beamlines. The EMBL team, who set up camp at the site of the EMBL beamlines, presented several technological developments related to the new beamlines including a live linkup to the MARVIN sample changing robot, who visitors could steer remotely, and a BioSAXS sample changer which was programmed to pour colourful dyes. Visitors to the EMBL stand could also learn all about structural biology, starting with interactive games to learn more about DNA and amino acids, to precipitating crystals and watching them grow under the microscope. The children’s activities, including making DNA helixes from Gummy Bears, proved almost too popular, with the flow of visitors seemingly never ceasing. An estimated 15 kg of Gummy Bears were sacrificed as a result. However exhausting it may have been, all those who took part agreed that the event was a success, and it was fun to have been a part of.