Events and appearances

CRC 1411 takes part in science festivals, trade fairs and schools – with photo booths, games and experiments about colour. Here you can find where to meet us next and where we have already been. To invite our team to your event, write to sfb1411-outreach@fau.de.

Upcoming outreach events

From 4 to 8 November 2026 we will be at the Consumenta in Nuremberg: read more in our news item.

Past outreach events

2026

• 17 July 2026 – Siemens One Summer Fest: with our new game “Help Murphy shine!”, played by more than 1000 visitors. Report
• 27 June 2026 – 70th Schlossgartenfest of FAU, Erlangen: our photo booth on pigments and structural colour. Report
• 23 April 2026 – Girls’ Day 2026: hands-on science for young participants. Report
• 22 April 2026 – Online workshop for primary school teachers “Woher kommt der Regenbogen?” (Where does the rainbow come from?) on the science of colour. Report
• 6 March 2026 – Lab visits for interested pupils at the Institute of Micro- and Nanostructure Research (IMN) and the Center for Nanoanalysis and Electron Microscopy (CENEM). Report

2025

• 5 November 2025 – KinderUni holiday programme: 20 children discover at the IMN how nature creates colour. Report
• 25 October 2025 – Lange Nacht der Wissenschaften 2025 (Long Night of Science): our stand with interactive exhibits and live experiments. Report · Look back with video
• 3 October 2025 – “Türen auf mit der Maus” 2025 (“SpielZeit”) at the panOPTICUM: Max Gmelch explains how colours work and why they fade; Nicolas Vogel shows structural colour in butterflies, peacock feathers and beetles – and as an edible version on chocolate. Report (German)
• 23 July 2025 – Outreach Summer Symposium “Farbe erleben!” (Experience colour!) at the Institute of Interfaces and Particle Technology (IPT), Erlangen: talk “Why do butterflies shimmer?”, hands-on stations on butterfly wings and soap bubbles, and a preview of the special episode of the “Sendung mit der Maus”. Report (German)
• 5 July 2025 – KinderUni 2025: “Engineering, chemistry, mathematics and the colourful world of silver”. Report (German)
• 28 June 2025 – Schlossgartenfest 2025 of FAU, Erlangen: our “Selfies & Colours” photo booth. Report
• 24 June 2025 – First workshop for primary school teachers on colour, together with panOPTICUM/SAOT. Report
• 21 May 2025 – Public talk “The Secret Science of Color” by Dr. Giulia Magnabosco, Nuremberg. Announcement
• 3 April 2025 – Girls’ Day 2025: doctoral researchers introduce structural colour and porous materials. Report

2024

• 3 December 2024 – Christmas Lecture of Erlangen Physics (Weihnachtsvorlesung) “When physics disappeared” at the Physikum, organised by the SAOT: Nicolas Vogel on the trail of physics in the colours of chameleons and butterflies and in artificial colours that do not fade. Report (German) · Recording
• 3 October 2024 – “Türen auf mit der Maus” 2024 (“Zusammen Tun”) at the panOPTICUM: hands-on colours, fading and structural colour. Event page · Video · Report (German)
• 5 July 2024 – KinderUni 2024: “What do an engineer and a mathematician have in common?” – collaboration in making nanoparticle colours. Report (German)
• 15 April 2024 – Science slam “Um uns die Nature” at the Frankfurt Opera House: Prof. Nicolas Vogel explains structural colour and wins second prize. Report

2023

• 21 October 2023 – Lange Nacht der Wissenschaften 2023: experiments on how nanostructures give rise to colour. Report

2021

• October 2021 – G’scheid schlau! – the digital substitute for the Lange Nacht der Wissenschaften, with a contribution from CRC 1411. Report