Little Professionals Build Potato Batteries
What do potatoes, children, and batteries have in common? Quite a lot, because they were all the focus of attention at MEET Battery Research Center on the “Open Doors with the Mouse” day on October 3. 32 small researchers between the ages of six and ten experimented together with MEET researchers Dr Katrin Junghans and Dr Tobias Gallasch and turned a tuber into a real source of electricity that lit up a small diode.
This event gave the little junior scientists and their parents a chance to peek behind the doors of the institute and gain an insight into everyday research at one of the leading battery research centers. The two MEET scientists informed about the electrifying world of batteries, answering questions such as: What exactly is electricity? How does a battery work? And what do researchers actually want to improve about batteries?
While the young participants enthusiastically experimented with potatoes and diodes, MEET Board Members Dr Adrienne Hammerschmidt and Dr Falko Schappacher guided the adults through the institute's laboratories and provided an overview of the current state of research and the battery hotspot Münster.
Here Comes the Mouse!
Every year on German Unity Day, children throughout Germany have the opportunity to look behind doors that usually remain closed. At the event day "Doors open with the mouse", organized by the broadcaster Westdeutscher Rundfunk (WDR), children and parents experience factual stories like in the "Show with the Mouse" live on site. Nearly 400 companies, factories, research labs, stadiums, farms, theaters, archives, workshops, and initiatives open their doors to the public on this day. Since 2017, MEET Battery Research Center has also been inviting young scientists to this special day.