Biotechnikum 2010
The BMBF Initiative BIOTechnikum offered a hands-on science experience from the 16-18 June 2010. "Exploring Life – Shaping the Future". The Regensburg people had the opportunity to visit the exceptional truck with most modern equipment in the middle of the old town quarter.
How does a medicine come into being? Why is biotechnology hidden in the washing powder? What career opportunities are on offer in this field? The Initiative BIOTechnikum answers questions like this. "Exploring Life – Shaping the Future" from the Federal Ministry of Education and Research (BMBF). The Information Campaign for Research in Modern Biotechnology in Germany was on tour with its mobile world of experiences – a two-storey truck – travelling through all of the administrative districts in Bavaria.
Supported by the Bavarian State Ministry for Education and Culture as well as the Bavarian State Ministry for Science, Research and Arts, BIOTechnikum was on the road for around three weeks to give pupils and the public extraordinary insights into the key technology of the 21st century. Accompanied by the BioPark in Regensburg, the truck was opening its doors for three days at Neupfarrplatz in the old town quarter in the second largest biotech location in Bavaria. Those interested could gain information about biotechnology and exchange ideas with the scientists involved in the project.
The truck-type upper floor serves as presentation room and forum for discussion. The lower storey consists of a model laboratory, presenting typical methods of modern biotechnology. This is also the place where practical courses for pupils and groups are being held. Besides, there are technical devices and informations on the fields of red (medical), white (industrial) and green (plant) biotechnology.
The team of BioPark Regensburg GmbH took the chance and performed an experiment under the eyes of the accompanying scientists in the laboratory of the BIOTechnikum. With an extract of hibiscus tea, the partipiciants built a so-called "Grätzel cell", also known as pigment solar cell, which converts light energy into electrical energy. This invention from the field of bionics uses living nature's building blocks to create alternative mechanisms for the generation of renewable energy.
