Bakteriopolis

Step into »Bakteriopolis« — a traveling exhibition that unveils the fascinating world of microbes and their crucial role in life on Earth.

Bakteriopolis: The Hidden World of Microbes invited visitors on a journey through themed stations to see how tiny organisms shape global cycles, and contribute to food production, medicine, and waste management. Explore how multicellularity empowers bacteria to thrive in diverse environments. It gave insights into microcosmic communities like water kefir and spirulina.

Visitors were able to experience bacterial cell structures through an augmented reality app created with the Interactive Media Lab Dresden. They met the Microbe of the Year, Electronema, and learned how it conducts electricity through long chains, showcasing microscopic teamwork. Fun for all ages, »Bakteriopolis« also featured interactive activities like bacteria crafts, coloring pages, and children's books.

Bakteriopolis was a mobile exhibition built into a shipping container showcasing bacteria and their amazing ability to form multicellular aggregates. These very common and sometimes spectacularly looking ‘biofilms’ may cause chronic infectious diseases, but are also involved in beneficial activities such as food fermentation. Designed as a public outreach activity of the DFG-funded priority program SPP2389 at TU Dresden, »Bakteriopolis« was traveling through Germany and was be presented in front of Naturkundemuseum Berlin during Berlin Science Week (1 – 10 November 2024).

On the 5th and 6th of November, MoA PhD student José Ignacio Hernández Lobato was leading through the exhibition and experiments at »Bakteriopolis« and gave visitors a glimpse into his research on how bacterial biofilms and plant-microbe interactions impact fermentative textile dyeing. Bakteriopolis was designed to be accessible to adults as well as kids.

To the website of TU Dresden
To the program of Berlin Science Week