Young Epigenetic Scientists at the new Science Communication lab of the Deutsches Museum
Inspired by recent work from Antonio Scialdone’s group on the spatial expression of olfactory neurons, Maria Elena Torres Padilla and Robert Schneider, directors of IES and IFE respectively, teamed up with the Deutsches Museum to share our research with the public. A group of young epigeneticists took up the challenge and designed an exhibition at the Deutsches Museum from September 16th to 18th.
For 3 days, we, PhD students from the EpiCrossBorders Graduate School as well as postdocs from Epigenetics@Helmholtz Munich shared our knowledge on the scientific worlds of smell and epigenetics at the Deutsches Museum's new Science Communication Lab. The exhibition included hands-on experiments, an exciting 3D model of the epigenetic landscape, anatomical models of the nose and throat, and Maria Richter's illuminated olfactory neuron plus many posters to provide insights into our work and findings. The visitors were excited to learn not to underestimate their sense of smell and also to realize how complex the connections between olfaction and epigenetics are. The exhibition targeted public of all ages and educational levels. The days were fascinating and challenging both for us and the many visitors. The very positive feedback from the visitors, as well as the exciting discussions were a great reward for the efforts. A big thank you to our partners from the Science Communication Lab for their great support and for giving us insight into the design of exhibitions.