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April 27, 2023: Girls and Boys Day at LIV

The children, aged 11 to 16, were immersed in the fascinating world of science on human pathogenic viruses. First, the children were introduced to the institute and virus research in an interactive presentation. Before they were allowed to enter the laboratories, Dr. Jan Chemnitz, LIV's safety officer, gave them a brief introduction to the rules of conduct and regulations of a safety level 2 laboratory.

Then it was finally time for the young researchers to slip into their lab coats and get hands-on. They explored our state-of-the-art technology platforms for light microscopy, electron microscopy and high-throughput sequencing, and even isolated DNA from bananas. They also visited the laboratories of the junior research groups for Systems Biology of Arboviruses and Cell Biology of RNA viruses, where they stained cell organelles and learned about mass spectrometry.

Finally, the acquired knowledge was put to the test in a quiz. Thus, an exciting morning came to an end, which will certainly leave a lasting impression on the girls and boys.