A Day Full of Discoveries: Girls' Day 2025 at the University of Hamburg

4 April 2025, by Heiko Fuchs

Photo: UHH/MIN/Fuchs

Here, the students “build” nanomotors.

On April 3, 2025, the nationwide Girls' Day celebrated its 25th anniversary. This special career orientation day provides girls and young women with insights into scientific, technical, and engineering professions. More than 580 schoolgirls from Hamburg and the surrounding area registered to participate in various activities at the Departments of Biology, Chemistry, Earth System Science, Computer Science, Mathematics, and Physics at the University of Hamburg.

Researchers at the Department of Biology provided interesting insights into the everyday research in marine ecosystem studies. The focus was on the marine ecosystem and the changing environmental conditions. The pupils microscopically examined plankton and identified fish species from the North Sea.

At the Department of Chemistry, the girls conducted various experiments related to nanoscience in the school laboratory "Molecules & Schools" of the excellence cluster "CUI: Advanced Imaging of Matter," including the production of gold nanoparticles.

An exciting journey through the secrets of the oceans and the challenges of climate change awaited the participants of Girls’ Day at the Department of Earth System Sciences. The researchers prepared experimental activities, insights into the daily lives of female oceanographers, as well as information on study and career opportunities.

Virtual worlds, the construction and programming of robots, and programming ranging from simple games to smart home controls were all topics covered at the Department of Informatics, along with discussions about the connection between computers and storm surges.

At the Department of Mathematics, the girls experienced a day as mathematics students and researchers: together they solved small puzzles, attended lectures, and met with doctoral candidates to learn about study options and career paths.

The Department of Physics also prepared numerous offerings. At the University of Hamburg's observatory, the pupils could participate in a scavenger hunt, meet female astrophysicists, build spectroscopes, and operate a real radio telescope. The school laboratory "Light & Schools" of the cluster of excellence "CUI: Advanced Imaging of Matter" featured a Science Escape Game and programming for the microcontroller Calliope mini.

More than 360 schoolgirls signed up for the interactive program "From Rocket to Nanomotor" led by Prof. Dr. Wolfgang Parak’s research group in nanoscience. The girls started by investigating recoil through different experiments. Next, they studied the operating principles of recoil rockets and ended with a focus on nanomotors, which also rely on the concept of recoil.

This initiative was supported by numerous helpers from the Department of Physics and the two clusters of excellence "CUI: Advanced Imaging of Matter" and "Quantum Universe."

"I particularly liked the experiments on building nanomotors, for which we used acetic acid and natron and were then able to see how the bottle moves. That was fun, and it's not something you do every day," reports thirteen-year-old Ella. “I also found it very exciting, and it's not usual that you get the opportunity to spend a whole day at university doing experiments,” adds Fee, who is also 13 years old. Twelve-year-old Buwi has already made a plan: “I thought it was very cool, especially that we were allowed to experiment, and one day I want to study here!”

Interest in the Girls' Day activities was again exceptionally high this year, so that all offers were fully booked within a very short time.