The Girls’ and Boys’ Day at LIB

In the great outdoors, the LIB museums and our scientific collections: Girls’ and Boys’ Day at LIB. © Eva Niephaus

 

Professional orientation in the world of biodiversity: Girls and boys were able to get to know the professions at LIB better in our museums. At both locations in Bonn and Hamburg, there was an exciting program on April 28, which showed both the wide range of tasks in the permanent exhibitions and the professions “behind the scenes”. The aim was to present, in particular, occupational fields in which the respective genders have so far been underrepresented.

More than 30 students between the ages of ten and 15 came to the Museum Koenig Bonn and the Museum der Natur Hamburg on Girls’ and Boys’ Day to learn about career prospects at both locations. Beyond museum work, the group of girls in Bonn learned about very different areas at the LIB: In the Biohistoricum, for example, they marveled at very old books from the 16th century and learned from the director Katharina Schmidt-Loske why these treasures can still play an important role in today’s research. The event was organized by Mariama Beck, who is responsible for educational events at the LIB. Our picture gallery shows which stations were still on display:

After a brief welcome by Mariama Beck, the coordinator for Girls’ Day at Museuem Koenig Bonn, and Barbara Ueding, the schoolgirls went on a guided tour to discover the museum’s permanent exhibition and thus various habitats.
Taxidermist Riccarda Wistuba explained how animals are prepared for display or collection using a variety of techniques in numerous steps. The girls learned which beetles help with taxidermy and how elaborate the design of the rainforest canopy is.
In the metabarcoding game, the girls were DNA detectives….
…and learned how living organisms, such as insects, can be identified in soil samples with the help of DNA barcodes.
In herpetology there were insights into the huge reptile collection. Claudia Koch (Curator Herpetology) explained what a type specimen is and that sometimes you have to look very closely to see if it is a snake or a worm.
…at the end the girls were allowed to make acquaintance with a live striped snake.

There was also a lot to discover at the Museum der Natur Hamburg – here a mixed group of boys and girls. The day was organized by Jakob Hallermann, curator of herpetology. Among other things, Ulrich Kotthoff showed in paleontology what is part of his daily work there in the museum, the collection and the laboratories. In addition, it went to the scientific collections of zoology:

First, the boys and girls were welcomed by Jakob Hallermann and Markus Dams (Technical Assistance Section Herpetology) and had the opportunity to explore the museum.
In the museum’s education department, Jakob Hallermann then demonstrated the curiosities he has to examine while working for customs to determine the species they are made of….
…about shoes, bags or belts made of reptile leather…
…to coats made from rare predatory cat skins.
In the scientific collections of crustaceans, amphibians and reptiles, there were wet specimens to discover. Kathrin Philipps-Bussau (Technical Assistance Crustacea)…
…and Petra Wagner (Technical Assistance Crustacea) also showed the group how water samples are examined.

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