The microscope research station is one of a total of four stations on the Helmholtz theme island we created in the Center for New Technologies (ZNT) of the Deutsches Museum. Under the motto "World of Small Things", the theme island, like the supporting exhibition, focuses on "finding solutions on a small scale" and offers active insights into the research work of the Helmholtz Association. The architecture of the exhibition modules reflects this theme with its structural elements composed of many small building blocks.
One hundred current research questions are applied to the building blocks and illustrate the range of current Helmholtz research. At four separate eyepiece stations, imaging techniques such as aerial photographs from research aircraft or scanning electron microscopy can also be explored.
Fascinating worlds of images become visible under the digital microscope: What looks like a giant prehistoric monster is actually a freshwater shrimp. Helmholtz researchers use microorganisms such as the freshwater shrimp as an indicator of water quality in groundwater analysis. Using RFID coding, this background information on each of the 26 preparations is displayed as soon as the slide is viewed under the microscope. Visitors learn details about the preparations and the respective research context. The four elementary school students would not have expected that microscopy would be so exciting. They enthusiastically explore the various preparations. In addition to preparations from the research context, objects brought along, such as keys or coins, can also be examined microscopically at the microscope station. There are deliberately no limits to the spirit of discovery.
Visitors can share their glimpse into the world of small things with friends and acquaintances: The preparations can be photographed at the microscope station and sent as an e-card with a personal cover letter under the motto "Greetings from the world of small things".
In addition to the microscopy station, the diverse research world of the Helmholtz Association can be explored at three other stations. Fascinating photo series, exciting audio features and videos: At the media library stations, visitors can browse the extensive media archive of the Helmholtz Association as they wish. The media offering can be viewed sorted by research area and topic as well as by current relevance.
What impulses are at the beginning of the research work? What questions are the Helmholtz researchers addressing? One hundred selected research questions on current Helmholtz research topics offer an immediate introduction to the discussion of the procedures and the insights and solutions generated here.
