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We offer talks in schools for different age groups. For more information, please send an email to sfb1411-outreach@fau.de.
Our experiment box
Where does the colour of the butterfly come from? With our experiment box you can examine a butterfly wing in detail under the light microscope and discover where its fascinating colour comes from.
Our teaching materials for primary school
Together with KreativSchwestern we have developed free teaching materials for primary school that explain various optical effects we experience in everyday life. The videos and materials below are in German.
How does a rainbow work?
Watch on YouTube with English subtitles (if available)
You can download our material here (in German).
Why is snow white?
Watch on YouTube with English subtitles (if available)
You can download our material here (in German).
Why is the sky blue?
Watch on YouTube with English subtitles (if available)
You can download our material here (in German).
Watch on YouTube with English subtitles (if available)
You can download our material here (in German).
Watch on YouTube with English subtitles (if available)
You can download our material here (in German).
Why is the sea blue?
Our teaching materials for everyone aged 8–99
Together with Kniffelix we develop materials that can be used in or outside school to learn more about colour.
Visit this page to start the mission (in German)!
Our challenge: Help Murphy shine!
What is the best way to learn? We think: by having lots of fun!
That is why we developed this challenge for children and their parents. Together you can discover structural colours and the magical world of colours in nature and in our labs. More here (in German).
Our events for teachers
Our second event for primary school teachers took place on 22 April 2026.
as part of the ProFiS programme
Determining material properties with laser light
Auf einfache und anschauliche Weise erhalten Schülerinnen und Schüler einen Einblick in die Bestimmung von Stoffdaten der Energie- und Verfahrenstechnik mittels konventioneller und laseroptischer Methoden.
Where colours come from
Our world is dominated by colours!
From the blue of the sky on a beautiful summer day to the brilliant colours of modern art, the mystical play of colours in church windows and the extravagant colour effects in nature – colours play a central role in our everyday lives. In this talk we get to the bottom of colours.
Read what the pupils of the Emmy-Noether-Gymnasium in Erlangen said about our visit! (in German)
More content coming soon!
If our video has made you curious, watch our episode of the “Sendung mit der Maus” (in German) and read more on GEO.de (in German) and in our article on Frontiers for Young Minds (in English)!
