Open house day 2014
Visitor event in cooperation with the Badische Zeitung
In 2014, the Max Planck Institute of Immunobiology and Epigenetics (MPI-IE) and the local newspaper Badische Zeitung (BZ) invited readers to visit the MPI-IE. After press officer Johannnes Faber had given an overview over general goals and organization of the Max Planck Society and about the research areas of the MPI-IE, explained managing director Thomas Jenuwein the fundamental principles of epigenetics. He showed by means of a chromatin model and selected examples, why we are “more than the sum of our genes”.
Subsequently and in smaller groups, the visitors gained insights into core scientific infrastructure units of the MPI-IE and learned what is behind the scenes of flow cytometry, proteomics and deep sequencing and modern microscopy.
At the same time, children were allowed to spring into action in the laboratory. They extracted DNA from a banana, examined their own oral mucosa cells and observed a wide variety of fruit flies under a microscope. Afterwards, visitors were invited to clarify open questions with scientists from the Institute. The visit was part of the public outreach program of the MPI-IE.
