Swiss Spacial planning? https://youtu.be/Gq0Em2-Tf7w The artificiality of the city makes Johanna Spyri's character Heidi and her friend Clara sick; the nature of the mountain world makes the two girls healthy again. The conflict between the evil city and the good landscape has also shaped Swiss spatial planning since its beginnings in the 1930s. After 1960, […]
In this workshop you will get an insight into the Simulation Center at the University Hospital Zurich and the research conducted there. The simulation center offers training for the joint management of complex situations to all employees of the USZ. Employees can practice important teamwork skills in a safe, realistic environment (rather than on patients). […]
Panelists: Prof. Dr. med. Heike Bischoff-Ferrari, DrPH, Chief Physician University Clinic for Acute Geriatrics, Clinic Director, Dept. of Aging Medicine, University Hospital and City Hospital Zurich PD Dr. med. Michael Dietrich, Head Traumatologie & Orthopädie Stadtspital Zürich Prof. Dr. med. Markus Manz, Chairman Comprehensive Cancer Center Zürich (CCCZ) Prof. Dr. Dr. med. Frank J. Rühli, Dean […]
Social and technical megatrends such as the sharing economy, individualization, multimodality, digital booking platforms, electromobility and automated driving are already changing not only our needs and mobility behavior, but also the mobility market. Verkehrsbetriebe Zürich (VBZ) wants to play an active role in shaping these developments and thus offer future-proof solutions. The city of Zurich's […]
The #MoveTheDate movement, made possible by the Migros Pioneer Fund, makes forward-looking ideas visible. The overriding motivation is to jointly push back the date of the Swiss Overshoot Day. Dr. Mathis Wackernagel, Swiss scientist, calculates the annual "Overshoot Day". According to his concept, on this date the population has used up the available natural resources, […]
High-speed drone racing, highly sensitive earth observation sensors and weightlessness in the service of science? The autonomous drones of UZH's Robotics and Perception Group compete for you against the world's best human drone pilots. Find out where autonomous drones will be used in the future, what transport drones from the company Matternet are already doing […]
High-speed drone racing, highly sensitive earth observation sensors and weightlessness in the service of science? The autonomous drones of UZH's Robotics and Perception Group compete for you against the world's best human drone pilots. Find out where autonomous drones will be used in the future, what transport drones from the company Matternet are already doing […]
High-speed drone racing, highly sensitive earth observation sensors and weightlessness in the service of science? The autonomous drones of UZH's Robotics and Perception Group compete for you against the world's best human drone pilots. Find out where autonomous drones will be used in the future, what transport drones from the company Matternet are already doing […]
They are omnipresent. For some, they are simply in the way; for others, they are a lifesaver on the way home or to the next meeting. We are talking about (e-) bikes, (e-) scooters - all the smallest vehicles used for individual passenger transport. These transport services are summarized under the collective term micromobility. For […]
Zurich is known worldwide for its high quality of life. An important prerequisite for this is an intact environment, which contributes to well-being and promotes health, as well as the social and economic conditions. By 2035, Zurich's population will grow to over 500,000. What challenges does this pose for a livable and intact environment in […]
High-speed drone racing, highly sensitive earth observation sensors and weightlessness in the service of science? The autonomous drones of UZH's Robotics and Perception Group compete for you against the world's best human drone pilots. Find out where autonomous drones will be used in the future, what transport drones from the company Matternet are already doing […]
In this workshop you will get an insight into the Simulation Center at the University Hospital Zurich and the research conducted there. The simulation center offers training for the joint management of complex situations to all employees of the USZ. Employees can practice important teamwork skills in a safe, realistic environment (rather than on patients). […]
Zurich is known worldwide for its high quality of life. An important prerequisite for this is an intact environment, which contributes to well-being and promotes health, as well as the social and economic conditions. By 2035, Zurich's population will grow to over 500,000. What challenges does this pose for a livable and intact environment in […]
Have you ever experimented with sound being diffused through your entire body? Are you curious to test your vibrational sensing abilities? In this workshop, you will be able to test how your body “physically” feels the properties of sound; by using a transducer - a vibrating speaker - you will be able to make your […]
In our workshop, we invite you to become part of the research yourself: Using video recordings of people/participants gaming–so-called naturally occurring data–we investigate how our interaction with virtual animals or being a virtual animal manifests itself in a multimodal way (linguistically, but also through gestures, facial expressions, body posture). In this way, we hope to […]
In this workshop, you will take the on role of a surgeon and perform surgical procedures using augmented reality-based navigation techniques. We will share the latest knowledge on promising technologies in surgery and look forward to your participation. As part of SURGENT (Surgeon Enhancing Technologies), the HMZ (University Medicine Zurich) flagship Project 2018, collaborators from […]
Microorganisms live in a world almost unimaginable to humans – if a bacterium were enlarged to be the size of a human, a human enlarged by the same degree could stretch between Zürich and London. At such tiny scales, the fundamental rules of life change, and in this workshop, we’ll explore how microorganisms move, feed, […]
Is a prosthetic arm just an artificial assistance system that is not part of the body? What if the prosthesis suddenly helps people to move independently, autonomously and naturally in society again? In this workshop, you will experience how people with a physical disability move naturally in everyday life thanks to artificial assistance systems. You […]
Find out about the pharaoh's snake, the secret of the blue bottle and rainbow colours made from red cabbage in the chemistry workshop of the Institute of Chemical and Bioengineering. Protected by lab coats and safety goggles, you will perform some cool chemistry experiments in a real laboratory under supervision.
What is the universe made of? Is most of the visible matter just atoms, or is there something else, like dark matter? Do we know all the particles that are out there? Why do galaxies rotate at the speed they do? These and other questions are part of what we think about every day. We […]
Have you ever wondered where the cocoa for your favorite chocolate is grown? And at the same time reflect on how does our decision of what chocolate to buy affects the livelihoods of those growing the main ingredient of your sweet treat? Come join us for this workshop to learn more about how cocoa goes […]
Waves are omnipresent in our lives and are used for a variety of applications - be it in earthquake research, space exploration, global communication or medicine. What do all waves have in common and how do they differ? How do we use their properties in our lives? With examples from everyday life and research, we […]
It all starts with a thunderstorm: lightning strikes the Magic Cube, a mysterious geometric body. The entire power supply of the parallel world "Elektron" fails. Electric cars, factories, microscopes, street lamps - everything is defective and shut down. In the workshop, the young people solve concrete, physical tasks to help the people in Elektron. The […]
At this year's Scientifica, the Sport Center Hönggerberg will be open to the public and will become an adventure hall. Children up to the age of eight, accompanied by their parents, are cordially invited to let off steam under expert guidance. The foundation for a sustainable, active sporting lifestyle is laid at a young age. […]
The exhibition "Waves - Dive in!" in the museum focusTerra introduces you to the moving world of waves. Waves are omnipresent in our lives and are used for a variety of applications - be it in earthquake research, space exploration, global communication or medicine. What do all waves have in common and how do they […]
If you are overwhelmed by the abundand program, then let the Scientifica Trail guide you through the exhibition in a playful way. Solve the riddles to find the stands and answer questions about the research on display there. If you get the answers correctly, you will receive a small souvenir gift at the alumni booth. […]
If you are overwhelmed by the abundand program, then let the Scientifica Trail guide you through the exhibition in a playful way. Solve the riddles to find the stands and answer questions about the research on display there. If you get the answers correctly, you will receive a small souvenir gift at the alumni booth. […]
A stinging nettle has got you. Ouch! Just a superfluous weed? The daisy too: pretty to look at, but otherwise useless? Far from it, both are medicinal herbs! Unfortunately, we are losing more and more of our knowledge about plants. Yet the secret of their healing power is thousands of years old and has already […]
Every year thousands of people lose their ability to communicate due to neurological disorders caused by damage in speech-related brain areas (such as in aphasia) or paralysis of voluntary muscle movement (such as in locked-in syndrome). The consequences of the disruption of natural speech production on the life quality of such patients are devastating. Therefore, […]
If you are a young scientist aged between 7 and 10 years you shall not miss this workshop! With us you will have a lot of fun doing experiments and learning more about your body. We have organized for you a parkour of experiments and you have one hour time to test your scientific skills […]
Program micro:bit so that you can exchange messages electronically with your friends. Micro:bit is a microcontroller. It can do much less than a smartphone or computer. But you can easily programme it yourself. It has Bluetooth and can communicate with other micro:bits. Have fun programming it and exchanging secret radio messages! mint & pepper is […]
Whether it's an important exam, a presentation, or a crucial sports competition - we want to be able to perform at our best. Whether we are able to achieve this depends strongly on the arousal level of our brain: if this level is too high, we feel stressed; if it is too low, we may […]
Based on different questions and exemplary cases, participants will discuss their intuitions on the topic of "natural vs. artificial". What criteria do we apply when we describe objects, landscapes and organisms as natural or artificial? Such considerations are relevant because they always involve the questions: "Is naturalness good?"; "Are natural things better than artificial?"; "Should […]
Have you ever wondered how robots get ready for work? At the Autonomous Systems Lab we’re preparing our robots for challenging real-world jobs where they need to help out humans in all sorts of environments, from search and rescue in hard-to-reach locations to assisting doctors and nurses in crowded hospitals. Come and meet our robots […]
All living things, from humans to the food we eat, have all of the genetic information tightly packed in each individual cell of their body. This genetic information is called Deoxyribonucleic Acid, which is shortened to DNA. DNA is passed from one generation to another and controls development, function and growth of a living organisms. […]
When you look at your watch late at night, is it 20:10 or 10 past 10 in the evening? If you have a four-hour flight from Zurich to Oslo at 21:00, do you arrive at 01:00 in the morning or at 25:00? The answer to these questions seems clear: we reset our hour counter to […]
Have you ever experimented with sound being diffused through your entire body? Are you curious to test your vibrational sensing abilities? In this workshop, you will be able to test how your body “physically” feels the properties of sound; by using a transducer - a vibrating speaker - you will be able to make your […]
City skyways filled with drone-like vehicles have long been a common image in science fiction, and for many of us, a lifelong dream. A few years ago, the advent of small consumer drones brought our dream a little closer to reality. In the shadow of this initial hype, a growing number of people and organizations […]
Skin is our largest organ. Every year more than 50 million people suffer from skin defects and need skin transplants to restore skin function. Unfortunately, standards of care are often lacking and ineffective, leaving patients with scars. Scars are disfiguring but also highly discomfiting, they can impair growth and movement and require serial surgeries and […]
The relationship between intersex people and medicine is a very complex one. At the forefront of the discussion lies the question of how to call people with diverse sex characteristics. We assume that the question of how to name people with diverse sex characteristics and the question of how to treat them are connected, since […]
Is there life on planets outside our solar system? In this short lecture we dedicate ourselves to this question, which has occupied mankind for thousands of years. For this we dive into the world of "exoplanets", planets orbiting other stars than the sun. We will look at how many exoplanets have already been found, what […]
Family area for very young children with their parents. Linger, rest, marvel and experiment - children from 0 - 7 years can make their own soap bubble cutlery here together with their parents and try it out in the large basin. Books, a play mat and much more await in the construction trailer so that […]
Everyone is talking about the safety of voting systems. What exactly are the characteristics we expect from a secure system? Is it at all possible to supplement or even surpass the security of paper-based voting documents electronically? And how can a fully decentralized system, namely a blockchain, be helpful here? This short talk presents the […]
We visit our study area (part of the "Waldlabor Zürich"), which is about a 10-minute walk from the Hönggerberg campus and easily accessible via forest paths. Together we go on a one-hour "forest walk" during which we learn about the essential components of the water cycle in the forest and "follow" a raindrop on its […]
What does ETH Zurich contribute to accessibility, self-determination, and inclusion of people with physical disabilities –at ETH itself and in society? To what extent are people without disabilities also dependent on accessibility – in old age, after an accident, or on the road with a stroller? We look into the"Design for All" approach in the […]
A stinging nettle has got you. Ouch! Just a superfluous weed? The daisy too: pretty to look at, but otherwise useless? Far from it, both are medicinal herbs! Unfortunately, we are losing more and more of our knowledge about plants. Yet the secret of their healing power is thousands of years old and has already […]
Every year thousands of people lose their ability to communicate due to neurological disorders caused by damage in speech-related brain areas (such as in aphasia) or paralysis of voluntary muscle movement (such as in locked-in syndrome). The consequences of the disruption of natural speech production on the life quality of such patients are devastating. Therefore, […]
If you are a young scientist aged between 7 and 10 years you shall not miss this workshop! With us you will have a lot of fun doing experiments and learning more about your body. We have organized for you a parkour of experiments and you have one hour time to test your scientific skills […]
Have you ever wondered how robots get ready for work? At the Autonomous Systems Lab we’re preparing our robots for challenging real-world jobs where they need to help out humans in all sorts of environments, from search and rescue in hard-to-reach locations to assisting doctors and nurses in crowded hospitals. Come and meet our robots […]
Have you ever wondered how robots get ready for work? At the Autonomous Systems Lab we’re preparing our robots for challenging real-world jobs where they need to help out humans in all sorts of environments, from search and rescue in hard-to-reach locations to assisting doctors and nurses in crowded hospitals. Come and meet our robots […]
Experience how we will design and plan buildings in the future. In this tour, we will introduce the Immersive Design Lab (IDL), an interdisciplinary laboratory at ETH Zurich. The IDL creates an unprecedented platform for collaborative research and teaching in the rapidly evolving field of interactive extended reality (XR) in architecture and construction. Immerse yourself […]
Damaged tissue that simply grows back: What is real everyday life for some species in the animal kingdom remains a nice dream for humans. We can only regrow lost tissue to a limited extent – for example, in the case of skin and liver. Our goal is to produce tissue and spare parts for the […]
Two basic questions arise in zoo animal feeding: Should zoo animals be fed according to their original habitats as much as possible? Zoo lions could then eat live hares, for example. Or is it more important that zoo animals eat as balanced a diet as possible and that their nutritional needs are met with a […]
Where does a rainbow come from? Why is the sky blue and the sunset red? Why does thunder come after lightning? Why does spaghetti cook more slowly in a mountain hut? We can answer these and other questions directly in the lecture hall by "recreating" the natural phenomenon accordingly. Come with us on a journey […]
Family area for very young children with their parents. Linger, rest, marvel and experiment - children from 0 - 7 years can make their own soap bubble cutlery here together with their parents and try it out in the large basin. Books, a play mat and much more await in the construction trailer so that […]
What would it mean to have a robot judge making decisions in courts? How would that judge be built? While artificial intelligence could make decisions more efficient and consistent, there are also risks that automated systems could replicate or amplify existing biases and rigidities. Given the stakes, these technologies force us to think carefully about […]
Mobile apps are taking on an increasingly important role in psychological research. They are easy to use, can be used at any time and from anywhere, and provide real-time data from a person's natural environment. Developmental psychologists at the University of Zurich have developed the "kleineWeltentdecker app," which parents can use to document their children's […]
Do prices of artworks result from the emotions of art lovers or are there explanatory, natural factors? The goal of this project was to develop a model that can automatically estimate auction prices of artworks using past auction data and information about the art market. Machine learning algorithms were used to train models to predict […]
Waves are omnipresent in our lives and are used for a variety of applications - be it in earthquake research, space exploration, global communication or medicine. What do all waves have in common and how do they differ? How do we use their properties in our lives? With examples from everyday life and research, we […]
Microorganisms live in a world almost unimaginable to humans – if a bacterium were enlarged to be the size of a human, a human enlarged by the same degree could stretch between Zürich and London. At such tiny scales, the fundamental rules of life change, and in this workshop, we’ll explore how microorganisms move, feed, […]
Is a prosthetic arm just an artificial assistance system that is not part of the body? What if the prosthesis suddenly helps people to move independently, autonomously and naturally in society again? In this workshop, you will experience how people with a physical disability move naturally in everyday life thanks to artificial assistance systems. You […]
Despite the name suggests, rare diseases affect about 500.000 people in Switzerland and around 300 million people worldwide, which is more than common diseases like diabetes. However, rare diseases are a highly diverse group of over 7.000 disorders, which due to the early onset of symptoms mostly occur in children. Since individual rare diseases only […]
Medieval animal books, also called 'bestiaries', were a kind of predecessor of today's animal encyclopedias. Unlike today, however, they did not distinguish between real animals and mythical creatures. Nor did they focus on the 'zoological' behavior of animals, but on what humans could learn from them. In this workshop, you will dive into the world […]
It all starts with a thunderstorm: lightning strikes the Magic Cube, a mysterious geometric body. The entire power supply of the parallel world "Elektron" fails. Electric cars, factories, microscopes, street lamps - everything is defective and shut down. In the workshop, the young people solve concrete, physical tasks to help the people in Elektron. The […]
A stinging nettle has got you. Ouch! Just a superfluous weed? The daisy too: pretty to look at, but otherwise useless? Far from it, both are medicinal herbs! Unfortunately, we are losing more and more of our knowledge about plants. Yet the secret of their healing power is thousands of years old and has already […]
Whether it's an important exam, a presentation, or a crucial sports competition - we want to be able to perform at our best. Whether we are able to achieve this depends strongly on the arousal level of our brain: if this level is too high, we feel stressed; if it is too low, we may […]
We will show how artificial intelligent systems have been inspired by biological nervous systems, both in software and hardware implementations. You will learn the differences between simulation and electronic implementation of neural networks and will be able to build and play with your own little neural network.
The development of mRNA vaccines is perhaps one of the greatest medical research success stories of the last decade. It has led to the use of very effective vaccines against covid-19 and has thus been instrumental in shortening the pandemic. RNA vaccines, unlike traditional vaccines, contain only the genetic information of the virus. The cells […]
Researchers from the “Initiative Geisteswissenschaften” of the UZH will welcome visitors at the "Café de l'Esprit" to discuss topics that move the world: Are phenomena as 'naturally' given as they seem? What is 'made' by human cultures? How do the arts respond to this? What techniques do we use to deal with existential questions? How […]
Imagine you are visiting a beautiful city. You got a lot of tips from locals and you want to explore the recommended museums, old bridges, the famous jazz bar and the market. The city is built on islands and you set the goal to visit all the sights, but to pass each bridge only once. […]
English description follows
In this talk, we will explore the diversity of flowers and their visitors. Flowers show incredible variation in size, shape, colour, and scent. Bright colours and enticing perfumes are used by flowers to attract equally diverse flower visitors, that while feeding on sweet nectar and starchy pollen pollinate the flowers and thereby help in the […]
Experience how we will design and plan buildings in the future. In this tour, we will introduce the Immersive Design Lab (IDL), an interdisciplinary laboratory at ETH Zurich. The IDL creates an unprecedented platform for collaborative research and teaching in the rapidly evolving field of interactive extended reality (XR) in architecture and construction. Immerse yourself […]
Trillions of microbes are living in our intestine in very well organised ecosystems, known as the “gut microbiota”/ “Darmflora”. Why are they there and what do they do? Can we influence them through our lifestyle? During this lab tour we will explain you how we study the gut microbiota of different persons in the lab […]
Anatomy visibly and tangibly reveals the structural diversity of human and animal bodies as a result of evolution. As a prerequisite for understanding normal and pathological bodily processes, anatomy is a foundation of medicine. In animal anatomy, plastination (known from the 'Body Worlds' exhibitions) is used to make anatomical structures vivid and comprehensible. In this […]
Family area for very young children with their parents. Linger, rest, marvel and experiment - children from 0 - 7 years can make their own soap bubble cutlery here together with their parents and try it out in the large basin. Books, a play mat and much more await in the construction trailer so that […]
Unlike embryonic stem cells, adult stem cells can safely be used in regenerative therapies. Their potential to develop into specific tissues gives them the unique ability to restore function to damaged tissues and organs. This ability can be used in the treatment of various injuries and diseases such as spinal cord injury, heart failure and […]
In 2015, the heads of state and government of the 193 UN member states agreed on 17 global goals, the so-called Sustainable Development Goals. These goals aim to end poverty, fight inequality and address climate change by 2030. In the meantime, more than five years have passed, and there is still much to do! All […]
In nature, the gecko is the master of perfect adhesion. It manages to walk quickly and safely along vertical walls and even overhangs. In our dreams we would like to climb everywhere and see the world from a different perspective. Is this a dream or are we already on the way to realization? This lecture […]
Snow is of great importance for our life in Switzerland. Be it for winter sports activities, as an important reservoir for hydroelectric power plants or as a central component in alpine ecosystems. Global climatic changes are altering snowfall and thus also the snow cover in the Alps. Understanding these changes or measuring them in the […]
What is perceived as "natural" and "unnatural" in music is by no means clear-cut. In the 13th and 14th centuries there were heated discussions about this among music theorists. In particular, “metric” and “rhythm” led to many distortions. There was for instance a "long" and a "short" note, which together formed a trinity that was […]
The trend towards building with wood is mainly due to the change in the building material. While the possibilities of timber construction were still very limited in the 19th century due to the natural properties of wood, the development of wood materials and the combination with other materials has led to completely new architectural solutions. […]
After five years of construction, the new laboratory buildings for the Institute of Chemistry will open at the end of August 2021. In the new laboratories, the chemical sciences will combine basic research with sustainable applications: safe batteries for renewable energies, natural approaches for organic agriculture and possible medicines for safe ageing. Complementary research is […]
In our workshop, we invite you to become part of the research yourself: Using video recordings of people/participants gaming–so-called naturally occurring data–we investigate how our interaction with virtual animals or being a virtual animal manifests itself in a multimodal way (linguistically, but also through gestures, facial expressions, body posture). In this way, we hope to […]
In this workshop, you will take the on role of a surgeon and perform surgical procedures using augmented reality-based navigation techniques. We will share the latest knowledge on promising technologies in surgery and look forward to your participation. As part of SURGENT (Surgeon Enhancing Technologies), the HMZ (University Medicine Zurich) flagship Project 2018, collaborators from […]
Have you ever wondered where the cocoa for your favorite chocolate is grown? And at the same time reflect on how does our decision of what chocolate to buy affects the livelihoods of those growing the main ingredient of your sweet treat? Come join us for this workshop to learn more about how cocoa goes […]
Find out about the pharaoh's snake, the secret of the blue bottle and rainbow colours made from red cabbage in the chemistry workshop of the Institute of Chemical and Bioengineering. Protected by lab coats and safety goggles, you will perform some cool chemistry experiments in a real laboratory under supervision.
A stinging nettle has got you. Ouch! Just a superfluous weed? The daisy too: pretty to look at, but otherwise useless? Far from it, both are medicinal herbs! Unfortunately, we are losing more and more of our knowledge about plants. Yet the secret of their healing power is thousands of years old and has already […]
Program micro:bit so that you can exchange messages electronically with your friends. Micro:bit is a microcontroller. It can do much less than a smartphone or computer. But you can easily programme it yourself. It has Bluetooth and can communicate with other micro:bits. Have fun programming it and exchanging secret radio messages! mint & pepper is […]
Across the globe, humanity flourishes by sharing thoughts, culture, information and technology through language – an incredibly complex method of communication shared with no other species on Earth. Languages themselves are dynamic systems which evolve through the introduction of new words and conventions by their users. These innovations are transmitted to other users during communication […]
Have you ever wondered how robots get ready for work? At the Autonomous Systems Lab we’re preparing our robots for challenging real-world jobs where they need to help out humans in all sorts of environments, from search and rescue in hard-to-reach locations to assisting doctors and nurses in crowded hospitals. Come and meet our robots […]
Did you know that astronauts lose 1 to 2 % bone density per month and that professional tennis players have a significantly higher bone density in the serving arm? This happens because the cells in the bone can sense applied loads and remodel bone to make it stronger where needed! In diseases such as osteoporosis […]
All living things, from humans to the food we eat, have all of the genetic information tightly packed in each individual cell of their body. This genetic information is called Deoxyribonucleic Acid, which is shortened to DNA. DNA is passed from one generation to another and controls development, function and growth of a living organisms. […]
Have you ever thought about creating a Citizen Science project? If the idea intrigues you, join the workshop to learn how the Citizen Science Center Zurich is there to support you with its platforms and tools! The Citizen Science Project Builder - a web-based tool that allows the co-creation of “data analysis” projects via a […]
During the Corona lockdown in spring 2020, schools switched to different forms of remote learning. Most of the time this was done digitally. Quite a few hoped that this would provide a digitization boost for schools outlasting the lockdown. But what has actually remained? On the one hand, you find those who welcome a return […]
Bacteria are ideal organisms to study evolution in real time. Bacteria always occur in thousands, reproduce quickly and therefore have an enormous potential to adapt to environmental changes. These adaptations can be studied in artificial laboratory systems. As an example, we use the evolution of antibiotic resistance. How do bacteria become resistant to antibiotics, which […]
Experience how we will design and plan buildings in the future. In this tour, we will introduce the Immersive Design Lab (IDL), an interdisciplinary laboratory at ETH Zurich. The IDL creates an unprecedented platform for collaborative research and teaching in the rapidly evolving field of interactive extended reality (XR) in architecture and construction. Immerse yourself […]
Trillions of microbes are living in our intestine in very well organised ecosystems, known as the “gut microbiota”/ “Darmflora”. Why are they there and what do they do? Can we influence them through our lifestyle? During this lab tour we will explain you how we study the gut microbiota of different persons in the lab […]
Have you ever experimented with sound being diffused through your entire body? Are you curious to test your vibrational sensing abilities? In this workshop, you will be able to test how your body “physically” feels the properties of sound; by using a transducer - a vibrating speaker - you will be able to make your […]
Family area for very young children with their parents. Linger, rest, marvel and experiment - children from 0 - 7 years can make their own soap bubble cutlery here together with their parents and try it out in the large basin. Books, a play mat and much more await in the construction trailer so that […]
Do not trust your eyes and do not believe what you see – painters are, after all, the greatest deceivers! Above all, illusionist painting aims to deceive the eye of the beholder. Although the picture surface is two-dimensional, it suggests openings to the inside and outside. It provides views into vast illusory worlds, things and […]
In this short lecture, Dr Rocha Martin invites the public to take a tour inside the body. We will stop at all the places where microorganisms live within our bodies, aiming to understand how they can protect or harm us. The first stop is our skin, the largest organ we have, which is covered with […]
Today, hundreds of thousands of artificial satellites fly around the earth to fulfill scientific, commercial or military purposes. Among them are satellites, so-called CubeSat, that are as big as a truck or as small as a cube with an edge length of only 10 cm. Besides there is only exactly one giant natural satellite orbiting […]
In recent years, artificial intelligent (AI) technologies have advanced at an enormous pace and in impressive ways. AI systems are now in every smartphone for speech and image recognition, in self-driving cars, and even robots are acting smarter and smarter thanks to their artificial neural networks. Nevertheless, AI still has a long way to go […]
Waves are omnipresent in our lives and are used for a variety of applications - be it in earthquake research, space exploration, global communication or medicine. What do all waves have in common and how do they differ? How do we use their properties in our lives? With examples from everyday life and research, we […]
Microorganisms live in a world almost unimaginable to humans – if a bacterium were enlarged to be the size of a human, a human enlarged by the same degree could stretch between Zürich and London. At such tiny scales, the fundamental rules of life change, and in this workshop, we’ll explore how microorganisms move, feed, […]
Is a prosthetic arm just an artificial assistance system that is not part of the body? What if the prosthesis suddenly helps people to move independently, autonomously and naturally in society again? In this workshop, you will experience how people with a physical disability move naturally in everyday life thanks to artificial assistance systems. You […]
Cancer develops when the processes that lead to natural cell division and cell renewal go awry. Cancer research investigates the phenomena of "what's going wrong" and where the molecules are that exhibit misbehavior. It also shows how cancer research contributes to the search for new therapeutic approaches. It will be explored how the "misbehavior" of […]
Only a few of the approximately 7,000 rare disease types are currently already medically researched. This is a particular challenge for people suffering from rare diseases and for their environment. On the one hand, it usually takes a long time until a diagnosis is available at all. On the other hand, there are usually only […]
It all starts with a thunderstorm: lightning strikes the Magic Cube, a mysterious geometric body. The entire power supply of the parallel world "Elektron" fails. Electric cars, factories, microscopes, street lamps - everything is defective and shut down. In the workshop, the young people solve concrete, physical tasks to help the people in Elektron. The […]
How many sexes are there? Can you turn a female animal into a male, or vice versa - and why is it not so easy to get rid of the production of male chicks? What have researchers observed after removing the male plants from a plant species with separate sexes - and why do they […]
Program micro:bit so that you can exchange messages electronically with your friends. Micro:bit is a microcontroller. It can do much less than a smartphone or computer. But you can easily programme it yourself. It has Bluetooth and can communicate with other micro:bits. Have fun programming it and exchanging secret radio messages! mint & pepper is […]
Whether it's an important exam, a presentation, or a crucial sports competition - we want to be able to perform at our best. Whether we are able to achieve this depends strongly on the arousal level of our brain: if this level is too high, we feel stressed; if it is too low, we may […]
We will show how artificial intelligent systems have been inspired by biological nervous systems, both in software and hardware implementations. You will learn the differences between simulation and electronic implementation of neural networks and will be able to build and play with your own little neural network.
Have you ever wondered how robots get ready for work? At the Autonomous Systems Lab we’re preparing our robots for challenging real-world jobs where they need to help out humans in all sorts of environments, from search and rescue in hard-to-reach locations to assisting doctors and nurses in crowded hospitals. Come and meet our robots […]
Perhaps you've seen how a simple sheet of paper can be skillfully folded into an artistic three-dimensional object, such as an animal figurine, an intricate decorative ornament, or a delicate box. People who have mastered this craft are true artists. But obviously there are also laws and rules behind it. Not every folding of a […]
English description follows
Have you ever wondered how robots get ready for work? At the Autonomous Systems Lab we’re preparing our robots for challenging real-world jobs where they need to help out humans in all sorts of environments, from search and rescue in hard-to-reach locations to assisting doctors and nurses in crowded hospitals. Come and meet our robots […]
Experience how we will design and plan buildings in the future. In this tour, we will introduce the Immersive Design Lab (IDL), an interdisciplinary laboratory at ETH Zurich. The IDL creates an unprecedented platform for collaborative research and teaching in the rapidly evolving field of interactive extended reality (XR) in architecture and construction. Immerse yourself […]
Have you ever experimented with sound being diffused through your entire body? Are you curious to test your vibrational sensing abilities? In this workshop, you will be able to test how your body “physically” feels the properties of sound; by using a transducer - a vibrating speaker - you will be able to make your […]
Where does a rainbow come from? Why is the sky blue and the sunset red? Why does thunder come after lightning? Why does spaghetti cook more slowly in a mountain hut? We can answer these and other questions directly in the lecture hall by "recreating" the natural phenomenon accordingly. Come with us on a journey […]
Anatomy visibly and tangibly reveals the structural diversity of human and animal bodies as a result of evolution. As a prerequisite for understanding normal and pathological bodily processes, anatomy is a foundation of medicine. In animal anatomy, plastination (known from the 'Body Worlds' exhibitions) is used to make anatomical structures vivid and comprehensible. In this […]
The robot Pepper gives us information in the mall, we ask Siri for the next pizzeria, and service robots are used in nursing: What are the characteristic features of communication with machines? What are the differences between this type of interaction and human-to-human communication? How do we perceive such interactions? Is one artificial, the other […]
Artificial radioactive isotopes of a natural element can be used to visualize and treat specific cancer cells in the body. All that is needed is to administer tiny amounts of a so-called radiopharmaceutical to the patient. Thanks to specific receptors, the radiopharmaceuticals accumulate only in the tumor but not in healthy tissue. A prominent example […]
Children's books should inspire, fascinate and arouse curiosity. In pictures and text, they use artistic means to present spectacular natural phenomena. But how exactly does this art of marveling at nature work in children's books? And how do nature and art come together in picture books? The short lecture invites you on a journey of […]
Although tendon injuries in horses are very common, promising therapies are still lacking. The often traded stem cell therapy has great potential. However, it leaves many questions about its exact effect unanswered and has therefore not been widely accepted to date. Another approach is the therapy with Genipin, which was originally extracted from Gardenia plants. […]
Parenthood is a miracle of nature! An egg and a sperm combine their genetic material to form a new organism, the pregnancy results in the birth of a new life. The development of mankind has been taking place in this way for thousands of years. However, for various reasons, the possibility of having children naturally […]
We visit our study area (part of the "Waldlabor Zürich"), which is about a 10-minute walk from the Hönggerberg campus and easily accessible via forest paths. Together we go on a one-hour "forest walk" during which we learn about the essential components of the water cycle in the forest and "follow" a raindrop on its […]
In this workshop, you will take the on role of a surgeon and perform surgical procedures using augmented reality-based navigation techniques. We will share the latest knowledge on promising technologies in surgery and look forward to your participation. As part of SURGENT (Surgeon Enhancing Technologies), the HMZ (University Medicine Zurich) flagship Project 2018, collaborators from […]
Waves are omnipresent in our lives and are used for a variety of applications - be it in earthquake research, space exploration, global communication or medicine. What do all waves have in common and how do they differ? How do we use their properties in our lives? With examples from everyday life and research, we […]
Program micro:bit so that you can exchange messages electronically with your friends. Micro:bit is a microcontroller. It can do much less than a smartphone or computer. But you can easily programme it yourself. It has Bluetooth and can communicate with other micro:bits. Have fun programming it and exchanging secret radio messages! mint & pepper is […]
Space tourism was considered a fairy tale fixture a few decades ago. Today, several commercial giants are leading the race to lead humanity towards space travel experience in earth orbit. How would such a journey look like? Join the the discussion with two key experts of space science & technology who will share their views […]
Blood vessels form a complex network of transport pathways through which blood circulates and reaches every region of our body. Together with the heart, they form the circulatory system that supplies all tissues with oxygen and nutrients. Functioning blood vessels are indispensable for a healthy life. But our vessels are also subject to malfunction. Vascular […]
Nature is often leaps and bounds ahead of us when it comes to creating ideal material behavior: from the high hardness of insect carapaces to extremely flexible palm trees to wafer-thin eggshells that can withstand enormous forces. Inspired by nature, we develop so-called "metamaterials" whose extreme, special or unusual properties can be controlled by their […]
Michel Houellebecq draws a very negative picture of human intimate relationships in his novels. In modern times, sexuality has become an object of consumption and exchange, which leads to enormous inequality. Certain people have an excess of sexual contacts, while others are denied access to sexuality. At the same time, the family as a social […]
How do planets form? Thousands of extrasolar planets have been discovered to date, and yet we still do not know how planets form out of the galaxy’s raw materials of interstellar gas and dust. Astrophysicists have made some progress by using supercomputer models to try to interpret new exciting images of planetary nurseries – protoplanetary […]
Religiosity - experience or construct? Naturally evolving - or shaped or even deformed by dogmas and institutions? How does religiosity relate to religious systems in late modern times? And how does theology as an academic disciplin fit in? Where does digitalization promote the fluidity and dynamics of lived theology and religion? Theological discussions have long […]
The trend towards building with wood is mainly due to the change in the building material. While the possibilities of timber construction were still very limited in the 19th century due to the natural properties of wood, the development of wood materials and the combination with other materials has led to completely new architectural solutions. […]
In our workshop, we invite you to become part of the research yourself: Using video recordings of people/participants gaming–so-called naturally occurring data–we investigate how our interaction with virtual animals or being a virtual animal manifests itself in a multimodal way (linguistically, but also through gestures, facial expressions, body posture). In this way, we hope to […]
If you never seen black holes arguing, this short play is your chance! Three black holes will meet in a bar and talk about the natural phenomena that produced them, and the technology that enabled their discovery. The floor will then be open for questions from the audience. The event will be interpreted live in […]
Since last year, the SARS-CoV-2 pandemic has drastically changed our lives. Since certain symptoms of COVID-19 are very similar to those of seasonal flu, the question of whether COVID-19 is the same as flu kept coming up. But what exactly are the similarities and differences between these diseases that have necessitated drastic action? In this […]
English description follows
Photographs are used for a variety of purposes in the sciences. Especially in research and teaching, photography has the task of making an object or situation visually accessible to an audience in a lifelike manner - regardless of time and place. But can photography really reproduce the desired motif true to nature? What influence do […]
We are interested in how we can arrange molecules in relation to each other. Not so easy when you can't touch molecules directly! But we believe that the shape of a molecule – its three-dimensional topography – can help us. A trick that potato chips have taught us. But how can we bend and shape […]
Writing depicts language graphically. It is a human invention, an artifact. Nevertheless, there is a lot of nature in it: Used by humans for thousands of years, the world's scripts are marked by their biological, cognitive and social nature. One example: At first, the forms of characters were very pictorial and visually resembled the objects […]
The lecture will be about the fascinating and futuristic research into connecting the human nervous system with bionic limbs. Striving to close the gap between humans and machines, this research combines neuroscience and medicine, engineering and artificial intelligence. Researchers are now working on creating prosthetic limbs that utilize the body’s complex senses and nervous system […]
Space is changing rapidly today due to new technologies as well as private investors. Last but not least, space also serves as a workshop for medical research and development. The use of microgravity in medicine ranges from understanding how mechanical forces are processed at the cellular level to prevent bone and muscle deterioration, for example, […]
Experience how we will design and plan buildings in the future. In this tour, we will introduce the Immersive Design Lab (IDL), an interdisciplinary laboratory at ETH Zurich. The IDL creates an unprecedented platform for collaborative research and teaching in the rapidly evolving field of interactive extended reality (XR) in architecture and construction. Immerse yourself […]
Have you ever experimented with sound being diffused through your entire body? Are you curious to test your vibrational sensing abilities? In this workshop, you will be able to test how your body “physically” feels the properties of sound; by using a transducer - a vibrating speaker - you will be able to make your […]
Anatomy visibly and tangibly reveals the structural diversity of human and animal bodies as a result of evolution. As a prerequisite for understanding normal and pathological bodily processes, anatomy is a foundation of medicine. In animal anatomy, plastination (known from the 'Body Worlds' exhibitions) is used to make anatomical structures vivid and comprehensible. In this […]
In our workshop, we invite you to become part of the research yourself: Using video recordings of people/participants gaming–so-called naturally occurring data–we investigate how our interaction with virtual animals or being a virtual animal manifests itself in a multimodal way (linguistically, but also through gestures, facial expressions, body posture). In this way, we hope to […]
In this workshop, you will take the on role of a surgeon and perform surgical procedures using augmented reality-based navigation techniques. We will share the latest knowledge on promising technologies in surgery and look forward to your participation. As part of SURGENT (Surgeon Enhancing Technologies), the HMZ (University Medicine Zurich) flagship Project 2018, collaborators from […]
Waves are omnipresent in our lives and are used for a variety of applications - be it in earthquake research, space exploration, global communication or medicine. What do all waves have in common and how do they differ? How do we use their properties in our lives? With examples from everyday life and research, we […]
Have you ever wondered where the cocoa for your favorite chocolate is grown? And at the same time reflect on how does our decision of what chocolate to buy affects the livelihoods of those growing the main ingredient of your sweet treat? Come join us for this workshop to learn more about how cocoa goes […]
Microorganisms live in a world almost unimaginable to humans – if a bacterium were enlarged to be the size of a human, a human enlarged by the same degree could stretch between Zürich and London. At such tiny scales, the fundamental rules of life change, and in this workshop, we’ll explore how microorganisms move, feed, […]
Is a prosthetic arm just an artificial assistance system that is not part of the body? What if the prosthesis suddenly helps people to move independently, autonomously and naturally in society again? In this workshop, you will experience how people with a physical disability move naturally in everyday life thanks to artificial assistance systems. You […]
Find out about the pharaoh's snake, the secret of the blue bottle and rainbow colours made from red cabbage in the chemistry workshop of the Institute of Chemical and Bioengineering. Protected by lab coats and safety goggles, you will perform some cool chemistry experiments in a real laboratory under supervision.
What is the universe made of? Is most of the visible matter just atoms, or is there something else, like dark matter? Do we know all the particles that are out there? Why do galaxies rotate at the speed they do? These and other questions are part of what we think about every day. We […]
Spaghetti for lunch, fresh broccoli from the market, and corn on the cob for BBQ! How natural - right? Crop domestication is paradigm to show how difficult it can be to distinguish natural from artificial. Cultivated plants are the result of breeding, a targeted evolution of wild plants, so to speak. Does this make bread […]
It all starts with a thunderstorm: lightning strikes the Magic Cube, a mysterious geometric body. The entire power supply of the parallel world "Elektron" fails. Electric cars, factories, microscopes, street lamps - everything is defective and shut down. In the workshop, the young people solve concrete, physical tasks to help the people in Elektron. The […]
The exhibition "Waves - Dive in!" in the museum focusTerra introduces you to the moving world of waves. Waves are omnipresent in our lives and are used for a variety of applications - be it in earthquake research, space exploration, global communication or medicine. What do all waves have in common and how do they […]
At this year's Scientifica, the Sport Center Hönggerberg will be open to the public and will become an adventure hall. Children up to the age of eight, accompanied by their parents, are cordially invited to let off steam under expert guidance. The foundation for a sustainable, active sporting lifestyle is laid at a young age. […]
If you are overwhelmed by the abundand program, then let the Scientifica Trail guide you through the exhibition in a playful way. Solve the riddles to find the stands and answer questions about the research on display there. If you get the answers correctly, you will receive a small souvenir gift at the alumni booth. […]
If you are overwhelmed by the abundand program, then let the Scientifica Trail guide you through the exhibition in a playful way. Solve the riddles to find the stands and answer questions about the research on display there. If you get the answers correctly, you will receive a small souvenir gift at the alumni booth. […]
A stinging nettle has got you. Ouch! Just a superfluous weed? The daisy too: pretty to look at, but otherwise useless? Far from it, both are medicinal herbs! Unfortunately, we are losing more and more of our knowledge about plants. Yet the secret of their healing power is thousands of years old and has already […]
Every year thousands of people lose their ability to communicate due to neurological disorders caused by damage in speech-related brain areas (such as in aphasia) or paralysis of voluntary muscle movement (such as in locked-in syndrome). The consequences of the disruption of natural speech production on the life quality of such patients are devastating. Therefore, […]
Program micro:bit so that you can exchange messages electronically with your friends. Micro:bit is a microcontroller. It can do much less than a smartphone or computer. But you can easily programme it yourself. It has Bluetooth and can communicate with other micro:bits. Have fun programming it and exchanging secret radio messages! mint & pepper is […]
Whether it's an important exam, a presentation, or a crucial sports competition - we want to be able to perform at our best. Whether we are able to achieve this depends strongly on the arousal level of our brain: if this level is too high, we feel stressed; if it is too low, we may […]
Based on different questions and exemplary cases, participants will discuss their intuitions on the topic of "natural vs. artificial". What criteria do we apply when we describe objects, landscapes and organisms as natural or artificial? Such considerations are relevant because they always involve the questions: "Is naturalness good?"; "Are natural things better than artificial?"; "Should […]
Have you ever wondered how robots get ready for work? At the Autonomous Systems Lab we’re preparing our robots for challenging real-world jobs where they need to help out humans in all sorts of environments, from search and rescue in hard-to-reach locations to assisting doctors and nurses in crowded hospitals. Come and meet our robots […]
Evolution is often perceived as a slow process lasting millions of years, which has been completed since the appearance of modern man. Few are aware that evolution is a continuous process that can occur rapidly, even within a few decades. Using various examples from the fields of medicine, agriculture and nature conservation, the current exhibition […]
All living things, from humans to the food we eat, have all of the genetic information tightly packed in each individual cell of their body. This genetic information is called Deoxyribonucleic Acid, which is shortened to DNA. DNA is passed from one generation to another and controls development, function and growth of a living organisms. […]
When you look at your watch late at night, is it 20:10 or 10 past 10 in the evening? If you have a four-hour flight from Zurich to Oslo at 21:00, do you arrive at 01:00 in the morning or at 25:00? The answer to these questions seems clear: we reset our hour counter to […]
Have you ever thought about creating a Citizen Science project? If the idea intrigues you, join the workshop to learn how the Citizen Science Center Zurich is there to support you with its platforms and tools! The Citizen Science Project Builder - a web-based tool that allows the co-creation of “data analysis” projects via a […]
Play the new game "Open up Your Research" at the Open Science Workshop. We will follow the researcher Emma on her way to a PhD. You get to decide at each stage whether Emma should practice an open science approach or go the conventional route. The majority decides what Emma's research process should look like. […]
Experience how we will design and plan buildings in the future. In this tour, we will introduce the Immersive Design Lab (IDL), an interdisciplinary laboratory at ETH Zurich. The IDL creates an unprecedented platform for collaborative research and teaching in the rapidly evolving field of interactive extended reality (XR) in architecture and construction. Immerse yourself […]
Have you ever experimented with sound being diffused through your entire body? Are you curious to test your vibrational sensing abilities? In this workshop, you will be able to test how your body “physically” feels the properties of sound; by using a transducer - a vibrating speaker - you will be able to make your […]
Cardiovascular diseases are the most frequent causes of death worldwide. With preventive measures, this circumstance could be efficiently counteracted. Studies have shown that with adequate control of the eight modifiable cardiovascular risk factors, over 90% of all cardiac events could be prevented. This sometimes – but by no means always – requires drug therapy. In […]
The skin is the largest organ of the human body. It forms an important barrier to the outside world and protects us from various threats, such as physical damage, water loss and infections. It also helps us regulate our body temperature and forms a huge surface for sensory perception of our surroundings. SKINTEGRITY.CH is a […]
Our presentation explores the relationship between conceptualizations of law and the observation of natural phenomena in antiquity. We will offer examples from three main cultures of the ancient Mediterranean: Mesopotamia, Greece and Israel. In the ancient Near East, people tried to explain and predict natural phenomena like illness, the movements of stars and planets, and […]
Of more than 4000 isotopes of chemical elements known to us, 93% are radioactive and the majority of them are of artificial origin. Only 7% are found in larger quantities in nature as stable isotopes. A large number of these radioactive isotopes are used in research and medicine. The work with these isotopes in the […]
Lameness in horses can have many causes. One of them is bone cysts, which often settle at the knee joint of thoroughbreds, but in warm-blooded horses and jumpers can affect various parts of the legs - often the toe joints. The cysts form cavities under the joint surface. Depending on their size, they lead to […]
Family area for very young children with their parents. Linger, rest, marvel and experiment - children from 0 - 7 years can make their own soap bubble cutlery here together with their parents and try it out in the large basin. Books, a play mat and much more await in the construction trailer so that […]
New biomedical technologies are driven both by the discovery of active entities (whether a drug molecule or stem cells) and by the design of new techniques to encapsulate, target, and deliver them in the body. In our lab, we work on the design of tailored and controllable biomaterials for drug delivery, for cell encapsulation, and […]
The trend towards building with wood is mainly due to the change in the building material. While the possibilities of timber construction were still very limited in the 19th century due to the natural properties of wood, the development of wood materials and the combination with other materials has led to completely new architectural solutions. […]
We visit our study area (part of the "Waldlabor Zürich"), which is about a 10-minute walk from the Hönggerberg campus and easily accessible via forest paths. Together we go on a one-hour "forest walk" during which we learn about the essential components of the water cycle in the forest and "follow" a raindrop on its […]
Culture is traditionally perceived as an artificial product and thereby contrasted with nature. It is also widely regarded as a prerogative of humans. However, recent developments in cognitive ethology, anthropology and ethnology cast doubt on these claims. As a result, there has been a veritable ‘culture war’ among experts. The controversy ranges over questions like: […]
A stinging nettle has got you. Ouch! Just a superfluous weed? The daisy too: pretty to look at, but otherwise useless? Far from it, both are medicinal herbs! Unfortunately, we are losing more and more of our knowledge about plants. Yet the secret of their healing power is thousands of years old and has already […]
Every year thousands of people lose their ability to communicate due to neurological disorders caused by damage in speech-related brain areas (such as in aphasia) or paralysis of voluntary muscle movement (such as in locked-in syndrome). The consequences of the disruption of natural speech production on the life quality of such patients are devastating. Therefore, […]
Humans have been breeding animals and plants for thousands of years to exploit desired genetic traits. Today, new animal breeds and plant varieties still play an important role in agriculture. The tools of modern breeding also include genetic engineering and, more recently, the CRISPR/Cas9 molecular scissors. These tools are mostly based on natural processes of […]
Have you ever wondered how robots get ready for work? At the Autonomous Systems Lab we’re preparing our robots for challenging real-world jobs where they need to help out humans in all sorts of environments, from search and rescue in hard-to-reach locations to assisting doctors and nurses in crowded hospitals. Come and meet our robots […]
Have you ever wondered how robots get ready for work? At the Autonomous Systems Lab we’re preparing our robots for challenging real-world jobs where they need to help out humans in all sorts of environments, from search and rescue in hard-to-reach locations to assisting doctors and nurses in crowded hospitals. Come and meet our robots […]
Experience how we will design and plan buildings in the future. In this tour, we will introduce the Immersive Design Lab (IDL), an interdisciplinary laboratory at ETH Zurich. The IDL creates an unprecedented platform for collaborative research and teaching in the rapidly evolving field of interactive extended reality (XR) in architecture and construction. Immerse yourself […]
The copperplate engraving of a simple hut made of trees and branches is a hit in the history of architecture and has been printed countless times. First published in Marc-Antoine Laugier's book in 1755, the image soon became the epitome of architecture having its origins in nature. Find out the background to the triumphant success […]
Where does a rainbow come from? Why is the sky blue and the sunset red? Why does thunder come after lightning? Why does spaghetti cook more slowly in a mountain hut? We can answer these and other questions directly in the lecture hall by "recreating" the natural phenomenon accordingly. Come with us on a journey […]
Anatomy visibly and tangibly reveals the structural diversity of human and animal bodies as a result of evolution. As a prerequisite for understanding normal and pathological bodily processes, anatomy is a foundation of medicine. In animal anatomy, plastination (known from the 'Body Worlds' exhibitions) is used to make anatomical structures vivid and comprehensible. In this […]
Family area for very young children with their parents. Linger, rest, marvel and experiment - children from 0 - 7 years can make their own soap bubble cutlery here together with their parents and try it out in the large basin. Books, a play mat and much more await in the construction trailer so that […]
With the introduction of the audio CD in 1982, an outcry went through the music world. People feared the demise of natural sound worlds and mourned the loss of the vinyl record experience – including its feel, its egging and crackling. Since then, the religious war over vinyl records, audio CDs and music files has […]
Human tissue structures with biological fidelity and organisation are no longer science fiction, and human bone marrow (BM) is no exception. BM is a semi-solid, sponge-like tissue found in the center of the bones, and it is the home to hematopoietic stem cells (HSCs). HSCs ensure hematopoiesis: Life-long blood and immune cell manufacture in the […]
Two basic questions arise in zoo animal feeding: Should zoo animals be fed according to their original habitats as much as possible? Zoo lions could then eat live hares, for example. Or is it more important that zoo animals eat as balanced a diet as possible and that their nutritional needs are met with a […]
In this workshop, you will take the on role of a surgeon and perform surgical procedures using augmented reality-based navigation techniques. We will share the latest knowledge on promising technologies in surgery and look forward to your participation. As part of SURGENT (Surgeon Enhancing Technologies), the HMZ (University Medicine Zurich) flagship Project 2018, collaborators from […]
Microorganisms live in a world almost unimaginable to humans – if a bacterium were enlarged to be the size of a human, a human enlarged by the same degree could stretch between Zürich and London. At such tiny scales, the fundamental rules of life change, and in this workshop, we’ll explore how microorganisms move, feed, […]
Is a prosthetic arm just an artificial assistance system that is not part of the body? What if the prosthesis suddenly helps people to move independently, autonomously and naturally in society again? In this workshop, you will experience how people with a physical disability move naturally in everyday life thanks to artificial assistance systems. You […]
Spaghetti for lunch, fresh broccoli from the market, and corn on the cob for BBQ! How natural - right? Crop domestication is paradigm to show how difficult it can be to distinguish natural from artificial. Cultivated plants are the result of breeding, a targeted evolution of wild plants, so to speak. Does this make bread […]
Waves are omnipresent in our lives and are used for a variety of applications - be it in earthquake research, space exploration, global communication or medicine. What do all waves have in common and how do they differ? How do we use their properties in our lives? With examples from everyday life and research, we […]
It all starts with a thunderstorm: lightning strikes the Magic Cube, a mysterious geometric body. The entire power supply of the parallel world "Elektron" fails. Electric cars, factories, microscopes, street lamps - everything is defective and shut down. In the workshop, the young people solve concrete, physical tasks to help the people in Elektron. The […]
A stinging nettle has got you. Ouch! Just a superfluous weed? The daisy too: pretty to look at, but otherwise useless? Far from it, both are medicinal herbs! Unfortunately, we are losing more and more of our knowledge about plants. Yet the secret of their healing power is thousands of years old and has already […]
Program micro:bit so that you can exchange messages electronically with your friends. Micro:bit is a microcontroller. It can do much less than a smartphone or computer. But you can easily programme it yourself. It has Bluetooth and can communicate with other micro:bits. Have fun programming it and exchanging secret radio messages! mint & pepper is […]
Whether it's an important exam, a presentation, or a crucial sports competition - we want to be able to perform at our best. Whether we are able to achieve this depends strongly on the arousal level of our brain: if this level is too high, we feel stressed; if it is too low, we may […]
Climate change, which is linked to an increasing demand for renewable energy solutions, are major challenges for the entire energy sector. The Energy Strategy 2050 aims to not only reduce energy consumption and promote renewable energy sources, but also to improve energy efficiency. For the design of future intelligent energy systems - which are being […]
More than 60 years after William Russell and Rex Burch developed the 3R principle (3R = Replacement, Reduction, Refinement of animal experiments), animals are still needed in research. What is being done at UZH to comply with the 3R principle? How are animal experiments regulated in Switzerland? For which research projects at the UZH are […]
If you never seen black holes arguing, this short play is your chance! Three black holes will meet in a bar and talk about the natural phenomena that produced them, and the technology that enabled their discovery. The floor will then be open for questions from the audience. The event will be interpreted live in […]
Imagine you are visiting a beautiful city. You got a lot of tips from locals and you want to explore the recommended museums, old bridges, the famous jazz bar and the market. The city is built on islands and you set the goal to visit all the sights, but to pass each bridge only once. […]
English description follows
Much of our food comes from plants that humans domesticated thousands of years ago and then steadily cultivated and improved. Today, rice, maize, wheat, potatoes and tomatoes are among the most important crops. But meat and other animal foods can only be produced to today’s extent because humans feed animals with cultivated plants. But how […]
Trillions of microbes are living in our intestine in very well organised ecosystems, known as the “gut microbiota”/ “Darmflora”. Why are they there and what do they do? Can we influence them through our lifestyle? During this lab tour we will explain you how we study the gut microbiota of different persons in the lab […]
The Irchel Park was artificially created about 35 years ago. Since then, numerous animal and plant species have settled here. Would you like to know what they are? Then come with us on a guided tour of the Irchel Nature Trail. Interested people of all ages are welcome. Discover the diversity of the Irchelpark and […]
Family area for very young children with their parents. Linger, rest, marvel and experiment - children from 0 - 7 years can make their own soap bubble cutlery here together with their parents and try it out in the large basin. Books, a play mat and much more await in the construction trailer so that […]
In this short talk we will introduce our app "Augmented Reality for Data Science". Augmented Reality (AR) is a versatile technology that makes abstract data more tangible. With our app, we show how, for example, a frequency distribution of flowers as well as their shape and structure can be visualized in AR as a hologram, […]
Every person produces more than one liter of urine every day, which is formed by our kidneys. How does this organ work? On the one hand, kidneys dispose of toxins and waste, and on the other, they regulate the amount of fluid, salt and other nutrients the body needs. Kidneys also produce important hormones and […]
Film soundtracks are expertly crafted to influence and manipulate our emotions. They have the power to make us laugh, cry and even cover our eyes in fear. For scary film scenes, the terrifying music accompanying them is often described as “scream-like”. A well-known example is Bernard Herrmann’s violent, shrieking violin cue that accompanies the infamous […]
Meteorites are pieces of rock that formed in space and landed on Earth. Some of them, the chondrites, formed very early in the solar system and recorded the processes that took place at the time. While we cannot observe these processes today, we can use computer simulations to reproduce them as closely as possible and […]
Albert Einstein predicted the existence of gravitational waves as early as 1916 within the framework of general relativity. However, gravitational waves were not directly detected until 2015 with the help of earthbound detectors. Currently, the European Space Agency is planning to place a gravitational wave observatory with a laser interferometer space antenna (LISA) in space. […]
New biomedical technologies are driven both by the discovery of active entities (whether a drug molecule or stem cells) and by the design of new techniques to encapsulate, target, and deliver them in the body. In our lab, we work on the design of tailored and controllable biomaterials for drug delivery, for cell encapsulation, and […]
After five years of construction, the new laboratory buildings for the Institute of Chemistry will open at the end of August 2021. In the new laboratories, the chemical sciences will combine basic research with sustainable applications: safe batteries for renewable energies, natural approaches for organic agriculture and possible medicines for safe ageing. Complementary research is […]
In our workshop, we invite you to become part of the research yourself: Using video recordings of people/participants gaming–so-called naturally occurring data–we investigate how our interaction with virtual animals or being a virtual animal manifests itself in a multimodal way (linguistically, but also through gestures, facial expressions, body posture). In this way, we hope to […]
Did you know that astronauts lose 1 to 2 % bone density per month and that professional tennis players have a significantly higher bone density in the serving arm? This happens because the cells in the bone can sense applied loads and remodel bone to make it stronger where needed! In diseases such as osteoporosis […]
Have you ever wondered where the cocoa for your favorite chocolate is grown? And at the same time reflect on how does our decision of what chocolate to buy affects the livelihoods of those growing the main ingredient of your sweet treat? Come join us for this workshop to learn more about how cocoa goes […]
Find out about the pharaoh's snake, the secret of the blue bottle and rainbow colours made from red cabbage in the chemistry workshop of the Institute of Chemical and Bioengineering. Protected by lab coats and safety goggles, you will perform some cool chemistry experiments in a real laboratory under supervision.
What is the universe made of? Is most of the visible matter just atoms, or is there something else, like dark matter? Do we know all the particles that are out there? Why do galaxies rotate at the speed they do? These and other questions are part of what we think about every day. We […]
Over 90 percent of male adolescents in Switzerland regularly play video games. This percentage has been stable for the past ten years. Among girls, about 50 percent identify themselves as gamers. According to the ZHAW's James Study, the average gaming time of male adolescents is 15 hours per week. To be successful in games, gamers […]
A stinging nettle has got you. Ouch! Just a superfluous weed? The daisy too: pretty to look at, but otherwise useless? Far from it, both are medicinal herbs! Unfortunately, we are losing more and more of our knowledge about plants. Yet the secret of their healing power is thousands of years old and has already […]
Program micro:bit so that you can exchange messages electronically with your friends. Micro:bit is a microcontroller. It can do much less than a smartphone or computer. But you can easily programme it yourself. It has Bluetooth and can communicate with other micro:bits. Have fun programming it and exchanging secret radio messages! mint & pepper is […]
Across the globe, humanity flourishes by sharing thoughts, culture, information and technology through language – an incredibly complex method of communication shared with no other species on Earth. Languages themselves are dynamic systems which evolve through the introduction of new words and conventions by their users. These innovations are transmitted to other users during communication […]
Humans have been breeding animals and plants for thousands of years to exploit desired genetic traits. Today, new animal breeds and plant varieties still play an important role in agriculture. The tools of modern breeding also include genetic engineering and, more recently, the CRISPR/Cas9 molecular scissors. These tools are mostly based on natural processes of […]
Have you ever wondered how robots get ready for work? At the Autonomous Systems Lab we’re preparing our robots for challenging real-world jobs where they need to help out humans in all sorts of environments, from search and rescue in hard-to-reach locations to assisting doctors and nurses in crowded hospitals. Come and meet our robots […]
All living things, from humans to the food we eat, have all of the genetic information tightly packed in each individual cell of their body. This genetic information is called Deoxyribonucleic Acid, which is shortened to DNA. DNA is passed from one generation to another and controls development, function and growth of a living organisms. […]
Play the new game "Open up Your Research" at the Open Science Workshop. We will follow the researcher Emma on her way to a PhD. You get to decide at each stage whether Emma should practice an open science approach or go the conventional route. The majority decides what Emma's research process should look like. […]
The impressive diversity of life forms on our planet came about through evolution - and this process continues to take place every day. What is evolution from a biological point of view? How does it come about? How is it examined in scientific studies in the laboratory and demonstrated in the natural habitat of species? […]
Trillions of microbes are living in our intestine in very well organised ecosystems, known as the “gut microbiota”/ “Darmflora”. Why are they there and what do they do? Can we influence them through our lifestyle? During this lab tour we will explain you how we study the gut microbiota of different persons in the lab […]
Have you ever experimented with sound being diffused through your entire body? Are you curious to test your vibrational sensing abilities? In this workshop, you will be able to test how your body “physically” feels the properties of sound; by using a transducer - a vibrating speaker - you will be able to make your […]
Family area for very young children with their parents. Linger, rest, marvel and experiment - children from 0 - 7 years can make their own soap bubble cutlery here together with their parents and try it out in the large basin. Books, a play mat and much more await in the construction trailer so that […]
In current urban research, nature is increasingly coming into focus as an important urban phenomenon. We present two different projects, both of which deal with comparable questions about sustainable urbanity: One project sheds light on how urban nature was discovered as well as designed in Zurich starting in the late 1970s and what social ideals […]
Planets are common astronomical objects. Gas giant planets, which are massive planets made of mostly hydrogen and helium, are the first planets to form, and due to their large masses, they affect the dynamical evolution of young planetary systems. In addition, giant planet composition reveals key information on the birth environment of planets. In this […]
The human brain is the most complex structure known to us in the universe. Due to the formation of an interconnected neuronal system, the human brain has spectacular capabilities. However, the high complexity also has its price: the regenerative capacity of our brain is limited. Many diseases, such as stroke, lead to irreparable damage to […]
What is the difference between an infection and a vaccination? What exactly happens in the body? How are vaccines produced? How and for how long am I protected after a vaccination? What is the difference between classical and newer vaccines? What is it about proteins, mRNA and vector-based vaccines? All these questions have gained new […]
We visit our study area (part of the "Waldlabor Zürich"), which is about a 10-minute walk from the Hönggerberg campus and easily accessible via forest paths. Together we go on a one-hour "forest walk" during which we learn about the essential components of the water cycle in the forest and "follow" a raindrop on its […]
In this workshop, you will take the on role of a surgeon and perform surgical procedures using augmented reality-based navigation techniques. We will share the latest knowledge on promising technologies in surgery and look forward to your participation. As part of SURGENT (Surgeon Enhancing Technologies), the HMZ (University Medicine Zurich) flagship Project 2018, collaborators from […]
Waves are omnipresent in our lives and are used for a variety of applications - be it in earthquake research, space exploration, global communication or medicine. What do all waves have in common and how do they differ? How do we use their properties in our lives? With examples from everyday life and research, we […]
Humanity has evolved through the variation and selection of genetic and cultural traits, partially escaping the constraints of environmental influences that once shaped our prehistoric ancestors. With the hygienic, medical, and social advances of the 20th century, human life expectancy and healthspan have increased substantially in Western industrialized countries. Soon, thanks to revolutionary technologies such […]
Since 2007, more than half of the world's population lives in cities. By 2050, it could be as many as two-thirds. Urbanization means an expansion of the built-up area and a change in the way of life. The causes and effects of this development are increasingly come to the fore of research. However, urbanization not […]
Is a prosthetic arm just an artificial assistance system that is not part of the body? What if the prosthesis suddenly helps people to move independently, autonomously and naturally in society again? In this workshop, you will experience how people with a physical disability move naturally in everyday life thanks to artificial assistance systems. You […]
It all starts with a thunderstorm: lightning strikes the Magic Cube, a mysterious geometric body. The entire power supply of the parallel world "Elektron" fails. Electric cars, factories, microscopes, street lamps - everything is defective and shut down. In the workshop, the young people solve concrete, physical tasks to help the people in Elektron. The […]
Have you ever wondered how robots get ready for work? At the Autonomous Systems Lab we’re preparing our robots for challenging real-world jobs where they need to help out humans in all sorts of environments, from search and rescue in hard-to-reach locations to assisting doctors and nurses in crowded hospitals. Come and meet our robots […]
Viruses are part of nature and are found in all cells. Their number by far exceeds the number of all cells and organisms on our planet. Some viruses, such as flu viruses or SARS-CoV-2 (coronaviruses) cause diseases, others are harmless. How is this possible? Can harmful viruses be eradicated? To answer these questions, we need […]
Program micro:bit so that you can exchange messages electronically with your friends. Micro:bit is a microcontroller. It can do much less than a smartphone or computer. But you can easily programme it yourself. It has Bluetooth and can communicate with other micro:bits. Have fun programming it and exchanging secret radio messages! mint & pepper is […]
Whether it's an important exam, a presentation, or a crucial sports competition - we want to be able to perform at our best. Whether we are able to achieve this depends strongly on the arousal level of our brain: if this level is too high, we feel stressed; if it is too low, we may […]
Have you ever wondered how robots get ready for work? At the Autonomous Systems Lab we’re preparing our robots for challenging real-world jobs where they need to help out humans in all sorts of environments, from search and rescue in hard-to-reach locations to assisting doctors and nurses in crowded hospitals. Come and meet our robots […]
Perhaps you've seen how a simple sheet of paper can be skillfully folded into an artistic three-dimensional object, such as an animal figurine, an intricate decorative ornament, or a delicate box. People who have mastered this craft are true artists. But obviously there are also laws and rules behind it. Not every folding of a […]
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Have you ever experimented with sound being diffused through your entire body? Are you curious to test your vibrational sensing abilities? In this workshop, you will be able to test how your body “physically” feels the properties of sound; by using a transducer - a vibrating speaker - you will be able to make your […]
Where does a rainbow come from? Why is the sky blue and the sunset red? Why does thunder come after lightning? Why does spaghetti cook more slowly in a mountain hut? We can answer these and other questions directly in the lecture hall by "recreating" the natural phenomenon accordingly. Come with us on a journey […]
We use the term microbiome to describe the totality of all microorganisms – for example bacteria, viruses or yeasts – on earth. In humans, we find the microbiome in different forms in the respiratory tract, in the gastrointestinal tract, on the skin and in the genital tract. These microorganisms live with us in symbiosis, fending […]
In 2020, Emmanuelle Charpentier and Jennifer Doudna were awarded the Nobel Prize for the development of a new technology for genome editing, CRISPR-Cas9. Before being a technological tool, CRISPR-Cas is an immune system used by bacteria to protect themselves against virus epidemics. The discovery of the CRISPR-Cas function was made by researchers trying to protect […]
Are we protecting nature when we genetically modify endangered species to protect them from extinction? For example, should we make endangered ferrets in America resistant to a disease imported by humans in the name of nature conservation? In this case, genetic engineering contributes to the preservation of natural species richness. But on the other hand, […]
Biological materials such as tooth enamel and seashell gain their strength from a unique internal structure, where rigid “building blocks” are arranged in an interlocking formation. This means that no block can move without disturbing its neighbors. The combination of this interlocking with weak interfaces between the building blocks leads to unique properties that typical […]
New biomedical technologies are driven both by the discovery of active entities (whether a drug molecule or stem cells) and by the design of new techniques to encapsulate, target, and deliver them in the body. In our lab, we work on the design of tailored and controllable biomaterials for drug delivery, for cell encapsulation, and […]
Not only are increasingly less people having children in Switzerland, but they are also having them later and more and more frequently with medical and technological support. Some procedures such as egg freezing are allowed in Switzerland, others - such as surrogacy - are not. Due to the rapid progress in the field of reproductive […]
Waves are omnipresent in our lives and are used for a variety of applications - be it in earthquake research, space exploration, global communication or medicine. What do all waves have in common and how do they differ? How do we use their properties in our lives? With examples from everyday life and research, we […]
