Speakers in the context of school partnerships

Free University of Berlin
Institute for Chemistry and Biochemistry
Takustrasse 3
D-14195 Berlin
Klaus Roth
www.klausroth.de

Sweeteners, the sweet side of chemistry

Sugar substitute. Instead of a chemical success story of sweeteners, a drama begins, the plot of which is determined by economic interest groups, tax legislation, the market, wild smugglers' gangs and the zeitgeist. But also a strong pinch of gripping chemistry. Let's take a closer look at the 10 sweeteners approved in the EU today and we're spoiled for choice.

Target group: students, teachers and the school community - Duration: 45-60 minutes

Crime scene Berlin: Berlin blue

its discoverers and traitors

Around 1700 the bear was tapping in Berlin. Bright minds were recruited from all over Europe and poured into the city. They were welcome, you didn't ask about your religion, you let them try their luck. Although alchemy was past its zenith, it was at its height in popularity. A colorful start-up scene developed in the city, in which in 1706 a discovery of the century was made with the Berlin blue. That is why many legends and stories have grown up from the start. Let's roll up the case again and finally close it, thanks to new research in the history of chemistry.

Target group: students, teachers and the school community - Duration: 45-60 minutes

The chemical secret of a Stradivarius

When a violin liquor enchants us with the sound of its Stradivarius, we believe we are very far away from chemistry. This is deceptive, because chemistry played and still plays an important role in Stradivari's workshop as well as with the drawn strings, the bow and the care of the instrument. So let's listen to the sound of a Stradivarius with the chemical ear.

Target group: students, teachers and the school community - Duration: 45-60 minutes

Absinthe - The kiss of the green fairy

Absinthe is trendy! After many decades of total prohibition, this drink has been allowed to be sold again in Germany for a few years. It was the favorite drink of the Parisian bohemians of the late 19th century. After a few glasses of absinthe, many gifted painters, musicians or poets hoped for the green fairy's embrace and kiss, which unleashed unexpected bursts of creativity. What is behind it and can we still hope for the green fairy today? So let's get to the bottom of it (chemical). À votre santé!

Target group: students, teachers and the school community - Duration: 45-60 minutes

From the Isenheim Altarpiece to the Beatles

On the Isenheim Altar, Mathias Grünewald disturbs us with the imaginative depiction of the "Temptation of St. Anthony" with a host of very terrible demons who harass and harass the desperate saint from all sides. We are particularly touched by a cripple covered with boils and suffering unspeakable pain, consequences of the popular epidemic ?Antoniusfeuer?. It took centuries for this epidemic disease to be recognized as a poisoning of the ergot fungus growing on rye. Let us shed some light on the fateful influence the poisons of ergot have played in human history.

Target group: students, teachers and the school community - Duration: 45-60 minutes

Chocolate - a chemical rush for the senses

Chocolate is a feast for all the senses: the silky matt dark brown, the wonderful cracking when a small piece is broken off, the scent that brings back memories of childhood and finally the gentle melting on the tongue. The secret of good chocolate is based on the ingredients of the cocoa bean, which are chemically refined during fermentation and roasting. Heavenly pleasures can only be achieved with a strong dose of chemistry.

Target group: students, teachers and the school community - Duration: 45-60 minutes

From the first beer to the hangover

The condition of the sick is worrying: nausea, vomiting, trembling limbs, outbreaks of sweats, pale corpses, humming skulls and poor circulation. Instead of sympathy, the loved ones' eyes only gleam with glee: "Was the 12th beer bad?", "Serves you right, you couldn't get your throat full enough". How can a molecule as small as ethanol cause so much human suffering? Let's explore the chemical consequences of a wet and happy evening.

Target group: students, teachers and the school community - Duration: 45-60 minutes

Can chemistry be kosher?

Chemical industry products improve people's quality of life all over the world. Consumers expect that the starting products, manufacturing processes and end products meet the highest standards. But people of some denominations expect even more: adherence to religious regulations throughout the manufacturing process. Let us study this unusual border area between chemistry and religion using the example of Islamic and Jewish laws.

Target group: students, teachers and the school community - Duration: 45-60 minutes

H ₂ O - tapped and originally corked

Water is extraordinary and amazes with so many peculiarities that it is no wonder that natural scientists have long had their teeth on the small molecule. In addition to the considerable successes in researching the properties of H2O in all aggregate states, water opens up a huge playground for scientific nonconformists, naive amateur researchers and savvy businessmen. Let us shed light on the colorful and sometimes shrill world of water on this side and on the other side of the limit of exact natural sciences with benevolence, critical distance and a large portion of gallows humor.

Target group: students, teachers and the school community - Duration: 45-60 minutes

Tattoo - chemistry that gets under your skin

"There is no nation, from the polar regions in the north to New Zealand in the south, in which the inhabitants do not have tattoos," said Charles Darwin in his "Origin of Species". The current renaissance of the tattoo therefore only takes up a tradition that has been cultivated in many cultures over many centuries. As early as 2009, every fourth German between the ages of 25 and 34 was tattooed and over 100 million people in Europe. But what happens to our skin during and after the introduction of color pigments into the deeper skin layers? Let's follow a tattoo from a chemical point of view from the beginning.

Target group: students, teachers and the school community - Duration: 45-60 minutes

The chemical secret of the Christmas scent

Every year on the 1st of Advent, many local kitchens are transformed into small bakeries, in which cookies and other baked goods are made together. Then the scent of freshly baked Christmas cookies, cinnamon stars, stollen and gingerbread wafts through the living room. No other festival is so closely connected to smells as Christmas and this sensory impression remains in a blissful and longing memory for a lifetime. Let's record the scent trail and try to find out its chemical basis. The effort is rewarded, because with the new knowledge, the Christmas treats taste twice as good.

Target group: students, teachers and the school community - Duration: 45-60 minutes

About sailors, guinea pigs and citrus fruits

We humans are by no means perfect biochemically. On the contrary, we have to ingest many essential substances with our food because our body cannot produce them itself. If we lack these substances, we get sick. A lack of vitamin C hits us particularly hard, because then we get sick with scurvy. It is not even 100 years ago that the molecular cause of this terrible disease was cleared up and humanity was set free from it forever. A look back into the many trials and tribulations of the centuries-old struggle against scurvy and in gratitude for the brave captains, Nobel Prize-winning chemists and physiologists and of course especially for the guinea pigs.

Target group: students, teachers and the school community - Duration: 45-60 minutes

The chemistry of espresso

Espresso is harmless to health, stimulates the spirit, does not make you fat and even has the papal blessing. Can you ask for more? A cup of espresso is easy to prepare: 50 roasted and ground coffee beans are pressure extracted in an espresso machine. Because of easy! There's a lot of chemistry behind it! So let's look at espresso from a chemical point of view and sip the tempting crema with twice the pleasure in the future.

Target group: students, teachers and the school community - Duration: 45-60 minutes

Chili - some like it spicy (with samples)

With plant species of the genus Capsicum, people all over the world spice up dishes both visually and in terms of taste. The Hungarian, Mexican, Korean and Indian cuisine would be inconceivable without their characteristic sharpness. How does Capsicum manage to synthesize chemical compounds that irritate our tongue just enough that we perceive it as a pleasant spiciness? Let's uncover the scientific background of the slowly decreasing burning tongue and enjoy spicy dishes even more consciously in the future.

Target group: students, teachers and the school community - Duration: 45-60 minutes

Waldbrunnenweg 16
D-35396 Giessen
roland.bitsch@uni-jena.de

Principles of nutrition for the elderly

Target group: school community - duration: 45 minutes

Water as the elixir of life

People's need for water

Target group: students, teachers, school community - Duration: 45 minutes

Chemical and physiological properties of vegetable polyphenols

Target group: students, teachers, school community - Duration: 45 minutes

Salt - crystals of life

Video cassette (recording of the MDR)

Target group: students, teachers, school community - duration: 30 minutes

Meat - an expendable food?

Facts and opinions on meat consumption

Target group: high school students and teachers

Vitamin D

A well-known and re-evaluated vitamin

Chemical structure, biosynthesis and physiological effect of this vitamin, needs and prophylactic aspects in humans in the light of more recent findings.

Target group: High school students, students and chemistry / biology teachers - Duration: approx. 30 - 40 minutes

Chemistry and Physiology of Vitamins

Approx. 3-hour theoretical introduction to the structure, occurrence, need and coverage of critical vitamins

Target group: High school teachers of chemistry, biology and housekeeping - Duration: approx. 3 hours

Calcium, iron and iodine as critical minerals / trace elements in the population

Target group: High school teachers of chemistry, biology and housekeeping - duration: 1.5 hours each

Vitamins as essential nutrients

Chemical structure and physiological functions of important vitamins are explained. The focus is on the functions as well as the possibilities of adequate intake using examples of the critical vitamins A, D, folic acid and B12.

Target group: high school students, students and teachers - duration: 60 min

Iron and iodine as trace elements

Both trace elements play a key role in the metabolism. Their sufficient supply in this country must be viewed as critical. The health consequences of inadequate intake as well as ways of meeting needs are discussed.

Target group: high school students, students and teachers - duration: 60 min

University of Wuppertal
Gaussstrasse 20
42119 Wuppertal
Michael Exchange

Excited states for exciting chemistry

Curricular innovation research in chemistry didactics

Chemistry also plays a key role in the development of photoprocesses for other STEM subjects, because one of its characteristic features is the explanation of macroscopic phenomena with the help of models at the (sub) microscopic particle level. In this sense, electronically excited states of molecules and other particle assemblies are common to all photoprocesses with and without a chemical reaction. That chemistry, physics, biology, computer science and geography can be conveyed in a stimulating, efficient, sustainable and future-oriented manner with stimulated states will be discussed in the lecture and demonstrated with a few experiments *. Experiments and other digital teaching / learning materials are available online on the Chemistry with Light Internet platform.

Target group: students, teachers and school community - Duration: 45-60 min

On the way to artificial photosynthesis

Light on! Even in chemical education!

In the lecture , the path to artificial photosynthesis will be followed on the basis of model experiments * in which essential elementary processes and energy conversions in the natural material cycle photosynthesis-cell respiration are simulated. In the further course, the direct, light-driven production of hydrogen without the detour via photovoltaics and electrolysis will be demonstrated experimentally *. This introduces one of the future scenarios for sustainable ?green chemistry?, which is based on climate-neutral, photocatalytically generated solar hydrogen. See also films on the Internet platform ? Chemistry with Light ? at the University of Wuppertal.

Target group: students, teachers and school community - Duration: 45-60 min

Photons and molecules

Experimental lecture and workshop for schools and universities

In the lecture and workshop, with the help of didactically concise experiments, it will be revealed how photons and molecules connect, separate and transform. Coherent with the experimental observations, model-theoretical explanations are developed on the particle level, with which the observed phenomena can be explained and other phenomena can be predicted and checked. Instructions are given on how to incorporate the experiments and models into lessons at secondary levels I and II and materials (worksheets, educational films, videos, model animations) are provided. The chemicals, devices, print and electronic materials for this workshop are summarized in the ? Photo-Mol? case, which can be purchased as part of the ?Chemistry School Partnership? sponsored by the Fonds der Chemischen Industrie. Regardless of this, the "intelligent" foil and luminescence samples made in the workshop can be taken with you. See also films on the website of the University of Wuppertal on fluorescence and photochromism.

Target group: students, teachers and school community - Duration: 45-60 min

Light laboratory plant

Experimental lecture and workshop for schools and universities

In the lecture and workshop, model experiments on the "plant light laboratory" are in the foreground. It is about the interaction of chlorophylls and carotenoids in photosynthesis as well as the material and energetic basis in the natural cycle of photosynthesis and respiration. The didactic utilization and curricular integration of the experiments in secondary levels I and II is supported with the help of teaching concepts, worksheets, model animations and educational films. More information on the course of the workshop, the experiments and materials as well as a cooperation offer at schools can be found on the " Plant Light Laboratory " slides on the Internet. See also films on the website of the University of Wuppertal on photoredox reactions.

Target group: students, teachers and school community - Duration: 45-60 min

Photosynthesis - a case for two

Interaction of chlorophyll and ?-carotene in photosynthesis

Carotenoids are interesting substances from everyday life, especially their most important representative, ?-carotene. Thanks to its interesting properties, ?-carotene is a chemical, biological and didactic all-rounder that always "puts a colorful swab on" chemistry and biology classes from the beginning to the Abitur and when developing or using technical terms, concepts and models of chemistry and biology can serve. In the lecture experiments and adequate integration possibilities for a modern curriculum will be presented. Videos and films about the experiments are available online at the University of Wuppertal under Photosynthesis - a case for two, part 2.

Target group: students, teachers and school community - Duration: 45-60 min

Photo & Nano - a strong couple

Thin layers with key functions

Photoactive nanomachines in biological functional units initiate the visual process in our eyes and photosynthesis in the green leaves. But why are they "photo and nano"? Because their drive, the light, cannot penetrate deep into the materials, but is already absorbed on the surface and nanostructured materials are ideally suited for this.

Evolution has produced ingenious biomaterials of this type. As a rule, light-absorbing species are combined with protein macromolecules. Inspired by nature, the materials science researches analog materials for technical applications. And here, too, light-absorbing molecules are combined with networks of organic polymers or inorganic ion lattices to form so-called nanocomposites. This innovative type of material is crucial for photovoltaics and photocatalysis, for example.

In the lecture , the underlying concepts of these two research areas will be developed under the motto photo & nano. Experimental approaches are shown and conceptually connected to curriculum-compliant content in order to apply, deepen and expand them. Slides of the presentation and other materials are available on the Internet under Chemistry with Light.

Target group: students, teachers and school community - Duration: 45-60 min

Luminescence - a paradigm shift for color

"The colors are deeds of light"

With the quote from his "Theory of Colors" quoted in the subtitle, Goethe was absolutely correct. However, his view of the composition of white light was wrong. In the lecture the question "What is light?" embedded in a cultural and scientific-historical excursion from Egyptian antiquity to Einstein's photoelectric effect and the light quanta. Both the historical milestones and our everyday experiences today with the "normal" colors of fabrics in white light and the luminescent or luminous colors, for example textiles in disco light or screens of electronic devices, confirm that "colors are deeds of light".

Luminescence in its various forms, eg fluorescence, phosphorescence, electroluminescence, chemiluminescence and bioluminescence will be highlighted in the lecture and illustrated with suitable experiments. Their conceptual explanation represents the paradigm shift claimed in the title, because unlike the ?normal? colors, luminous colors are not created through light absorption, but through light emission. This is a paradigm shift that has to be carried out in many school books and curricula that are still valid today. Digital materials on the cover topic are available on the Internet under Chemistry with Light.

Target group: students, teachers and school community - Duration: 45-60 min

Uhlandstrasse 17
D-48565 Steinfurt
hb-altenburg@versanet.de

Crystals and their cultivation

General properties of crystals and their cultivation, presentation of various (collected) crystals

Target group: Students, schoolchildren, teachers and the school community, on request also young people from 7 years - Duration: 45 minutes (on request also 60-90 minutes)

World of crystals

General properties of crystals and their cultivation, presentation of various (collected) crystals

Target group: Students, schoolchildren, teachers and the school community, on request also young people from 7 years - Duration: 45 minutes (on request also 60-90 minutes)

From table salt to ruby

General properties of crystals and their cultivation, presentation of various (collected) crystals. With demonstrations and / or experiments

Target group: Students, schoolchildren, teachers and the school community, upon request also young people from 7 years of age - Duration: 45 minutes (on request also 60-90 minutes)

Superconductivity

Basics and Applications

Target group: students, teachers and the school community - Duration: 45 minutes

physics and chemistry of water

(with experiments). Only near Steinfurt, as test equipment has to be transported with you.

Target group: students, teachers and the school community - Duration: 45 minutes

Preparation of ceramic superconducting substances

(possibly with demonstrations). Basics and Applications

Target group: students, teachers and the school community - Duration: 45 minutes

Nittumer way 4
D-51467 Bergisch Gladbach
Gerhard Heywang

Water - an everyday miracle?!

The "elixir of life" water is indispensable on earth: 70% of the earth's surface is covered with water, organisms such as jellyfish consist of up to 99% water and even humans carry around 68% of their weight with this liquid. The wet "element" has many interesting properties. With experiments, which are usually easy to carry out at home, and video sequences, Dr. Gerhard Heywang, who used to work for Bayer AG in Leverkusen, noticed various phenomena. You get answers to the following questions, among others: Can you glue panels with a drop of water that is not drop-shaped at all (!)? Why does a thermometer in ground ice show a temperature of about +2°C? Why do the windows and mirrors fog up when you shower?
Duration: 90 minutes
Target group: High school classes and school community

Splish Splash

"Water"lecture prepared for kindergarten children or elementary school students. Which objects float in the water and which sink. Experiments on surface tension, an imploding beverage can, the super absorber from the baby diaper and the production of soda will be demonstrated.
Duration: 45 minutes
Target Audience: Preschoolers and elementary school students

Plastics are just great!

Today there is hardly an area of our life imaginable in which plastics do not play an important or even decisive role. The nature of plastics means that interesting physical properties can be realized. Various experiments on the special properties and synthesis of plastics will be presented in the lecture . The versatility of use is demonstrated by many application examples. Here you can see that plastics are much more than "just plastic". For reasons of weight, for example, the intake manifolds in the engine compartment of automobiles are made of polyamide. The tear strength of plastic fibers exceeds that of steel. The field of functional polymers has recently become increasingly important. Electrically conductive polymers and super absorbers are presented as examples.
Duration: 90 minutes
Target group: High school classes and school community

The chemistry between 6:30 a.m. and 7:30 a.m

In the hour after waking up, people are confronted with a plethora of chemicals and chemical products - usually in a downright pleasant way! The experimental lecture illuminates the diverse facets of where and how chemistry meets us in the morning. In the first hour after getting up we encounter plastics, that's still possible, but also acetaldehyde, furfurylthiol and sotolon. Surfactants are allowed to act on the body and you try to get rid of them with the bio-solvent water.
Duration: 60 minutes
Target group: High school classes and school community

What makes us vibrate?

How do our vocal cords work? Why do standing waves occur in a tube that is open on both sides when you hit it with the flat of your hand? Why does a flute produce sounds when it is blown into it and a garden hose does not? Can you still make music with a garden hose? Does a piano really only have 88 tones? These and other questions about music and acoustics are answered and explained in an entertaining way using numerous simple experiments.
Duration: 70 minutes
Target group: High school classes and school community

Do you have sounds?

The question "Do you have sounds?" is ambiguous:
1) Can you produce sounds? This is explained using vocal cords, pipes, horns and flutes and the underlying physical principles.
2) Do you (still) have words? I hope not to be speechless, but the physics and chemistry experiments (plastics and water) are always amazing.
Parts 1 and 2 are closely interwoven, with a certain entertainment value that cannot be denied. Many of the experiments can easily be carried out at home. The experiments are all related to everyday life and are ideally suited for science lessons - with certain simplifications, mostly even for primary school.
Duration: 70 - 90 minutes - depending on the audience
Target group: High school classes and school community

Sparkling wine – also scientifically sparkling

Sparkling wine embodies concepts such as luxury, festivity and enjoyment. Sparkling wine is a foaming noble drop that simply belongs on festive occasions and special moments in life. This tradition came to Germany towards the end of the 18th century and with it the secret of the highly sensitive fermentation process. But how did the invention of sparkling wine come about, and which ingredients ultimately make it a delicious liquid? Who thinks that the pressure in a champagne bottle is higher than that in a car tire? Experiments are presented on the ingredients water, carbon dioxide and ethanol.
Phenomena that can be observed with sparkling wine are also of importance in technology and nature. Among other things, the catastrophe of Lake Nyos (1800 dead and 30 000 animals killed) and cold geysers are dealt with. The role of the silver spoon in supposedly ensuring the quality of the sparkling wine in an opened bottle in the refrigerator is also clarified.
Duration: 70 minutes
Target group: High school classes and school community

heads of science

The natural scientists Daniel Bernoulli (fluid mechanics), Wallace Carothers (polyamide), Felix Hoffmann (aspirin), Otto Bayer (polyurethanes) and Hermann Schnell (polycarbonates) are presented with impressive experiments.
Duration: 30 - 60 minutes
Target group: High school classes and school community

Egg, egg, egg - worth knowing and experimental things about the egg

Everyone has eaten an egg at some point – you have probably indulged in the pleasure without thinking about the interesting questions and worth-knowing answers hidden behind eggs.
The experimental lecture deals with aspects relating to the egg and answers questions such as: Why do you need a lot of water in the egg cooker for a few eggs and little water for a lot of eggs? Why are eggs deterred? How round does the egg come out of the chicken? Which chickens lay white and which brown eggs? What is the dye in brown eggs made of? How can you tell if an egg is boiled or raw? How long does it take a chicken to produce 8g of protein for the egg? How long does it take for the shell to form? Are chickens stupid or smart? And much more.
Duration: Depending on interests: 40, 60 or 80 minutes
Target Audience: Students of all ages and school community

A little light burns - experiments with candles

Burning candles create a mood of celebration. The lecture deals with the questions "Why do candles burn at all?" "What happens when they burn?" "How are candles made?"
Duration: Depending on interests: 40, 60 or 70 minutes
Target group: students of all ages and school community

Electrically conductive polymers - history and current applications

Using the example of polyacetylene, the structural and chemical requirements for electrically conductive polymers are derived. With polyacetylene, conductivities were achieved that correspond to those of iron, but the processing options are quite modest and the long-term and thermal stability are completely inadequate. Soon after the discovery of polyacetylene, polypyrrole was presented as a significantly more stable material, which also made technical applications possible. With polyethylenedioxythiophene, the processability and stability could be further developed to a large extent, so that a breakthrough for technical applications was achieved. There are now a number of different possible uses: antistatic coatings in photo films, through-hole plating of printed circuit boards, counter electrodes in solid electrolytic capacitors, monitor coatings and organic light-emitting diodes (OLEDs). The applications are presented and the advantages of using electrically conductive polymers compared to conventional systems and problem solutions are explained. The breakthrough of polyethylenedioxythiophene in technical products was not least possible because the material can be applied as a dispersion and because the polymer can be produced specifically where its functional properties are required.
Duration: 60 minutes
Target group: high school students and teachers

How bewitched

In this experimental lecture, the world seems to be out of order: is it possible to inflate a balloon in a bottle? What does a bottle devil do and why? Corks fall onto a tabletop and stand upright. Metal slices don't want to fall into a shot glass. An unprepared table tennis ball refuses to float on water. You have to see that a reversing lens behaves differently with red and blue letters, otherwise you won't believe it. All experiments follow scientific laws that are explained in an understandable way and are surprising and entertaining. All have to do with air or components of air. Many of the experiments can also be carried out at home with simple means.
Duration: 45 - 60 minutes
Target group: Kindergarten children from the age of 5, students of all ages and the school community

Rumpelstiltskin

The fairy tale Rumpelstiltskin is read aloud and embellished with physical and chemical experiments.
There is a wealth of physical and chemical experiments on the well-known fairy tale, which are presented at the appropriate places. The main topic is spinning experiments. It is also shown how you can actually spin a golden wire out of real straw. The miller is an occasion to deal with the fire behavior of flour. A chemical solution to the problem is proposed for the girl's tears. The tearing of Rumpelstiltskin is not shown, but how it disappears into the "earth".
Duration: 60 mins
Target group: students of all ages and school community

Max and Moritz

The well-known rascal story is read aloud and garnished with physical and chemical experiments.
There is a wealth of physical and chemical experiments on Max and Moritz, which are presented at the appropriate places. The experimental lecture also explains why, for example, the fourth prank (teacher Lämpel) cannot have taken place in this way. Max and Moritz's leftovers didn't quite make it through the chickens after they were crushed. They will be destroyed in the lecture
Duration: 60 mins
Target group: students of all ages and school community

The tongue - a jack of all trades

The tongue is a very versatile organ. It helps with speaking, swallowing, chewing and many other oral activities. The tongue consists of 9 different muscles, each of which can only contract, but you can still stick out the tongue. How does it work? And how does that work when a chameleon can catapult its tongue out as far as its own body length? In the lecture , volunteers will examine how taste develops and which flavors can be perceived with the tongue. Does salt always taste salty and is hot chilli healthy? Who can roll the tongue? And what happens with the rolling R? Overall, it is about the chemistry and physics in the oral cavity.
Duration: 60 mins
Target group: Pupils from 10 years of all school types and school communities

Something is dripping – (almost everything about dripping)

A raindrop is round - no: almost round! He looks like a bun from the side. There are also round drops if they are small enough. There are also drops that represent a hemisphere; eg on the window pane. The structure, referred to in German as the "drop shape", exists in art and advertising, but only very rarely in practice. Examples are presented. Water droplets with highly peculiar shapes play a very important role in sandcastle building, and that is why sandcastles remain for a considerable amount of time after construction. Extremely unusual drops are presented: water with cornstarch forms a "pamp" that enables particularly idiosyncratic drops. There are still drops of coffee, drops of wine, drops of honey and very special “nervous” drops that a theologian understood and described for the first time.
Duration: 60 mins
Target group: Pupils from 10 years of all school types and school communities

Honey and sweets from nature

During photosynthesis, carbon dioxide reacts with water in plants exposed to sunlight. Here, oxygen and carbohydrates are formed. A small proportion of the carbohydrates are in the form of low-molecular sugars. A significantly larger proportion is starch, and the majority are cellulose chains, the structural substance of all plants. Sugar is found in varying proportions in flowers (nectar), branches and plant stems, and in roots. Lice also secrete sugary solutions, and in mammals, galactose (milk sugar) is produced in breast milk to feed offspring. The experiments involve honey and household sugar.

Duration: 60 - 70 min
Target group: High school classes and school community

Amselstrasse 17
D-63454 Hanau
Axel Kleemann

Use of biotechnology for the production of active pharmaceutical ingredients

Biotechnological methods and process steps (enzymes, microorganisms, cell cultures) are being used to an increasing extent to produce enantiomerically pure active ingredients. These processes are an important part of "green chemistry," and even some basic organic chemicals can be produced economically using biotechnology.
Duration: 45 minutes
Target group: teachers, high school students; Chemists, biologists, pharmacists

Quo Vadis Pharmaceutical Research?

The development of new drugs and galenic formulations is becoming more and more time-consuming, expensive, risky, and thus an uncertain financial adventure. How is the pharmaceutical industry adapting to this?
Duration: 45 minutes
Target group: (young) chemists, pharmacists, physicians, biologists, teachers, high school students

The changing pharmaceutical industry

The pharmaceutical industry is currently under great pressure due to the expiry of many blockbuster drugs and the resulting competition from generic drugs, declining productivity in research and development, cost-cutting measures in many countries, increasing approval requirements and a poor public image. What will and must change?
Duration: 45 minutes
Target group: natural scientists, medical professionals, students, teachers and high school students

What makes pharmaceutical drug research so attractive?

The demand for new and better drugs will (have to) continue to increase due to demographic developments. The major challenges at present are dementia / Alzheimer's disease, resistant bacterial pathogens, certain cancers, rare diseases ("orphan diseases") and chronic diseases, which so far only respond to medication in some patients and can only be influenced symptomatically. There is no other field of work that is as multidisciplinary and interdisciplinary as modern drug research and development.
Duration: 45 minutes
Target group: natural scientists, medical professionals, students, teachers and high school students

Berliner Ring 6
D-65779 Kelkheim am Taunus
pe70ge@t-online.de

Development of chemical processes

From the laboratory to production readiness

Planning, construction and operation of laboratory facilities for a "scale up" of chemical reactions using the example of the production of sulfuric acid, iron and food

Target group: chemistry teachers at general and vocational schools

Scientific professions

Characteristics of scientific professions in the chemical industry

Target group: teachers in general schools, especially 9th and 12th grade

Experiments in kindergarten

Biological, chemical and physical experiments for preschool children

Target group: educators

Subject chemical production

Didactic and methodical integration of the presentation of large-scale chemical processes in the classroom

Target group: chemistry teachers at general and vocational schools

Lorsbacher Straße 54B
65719 Hofheim am Taunus
Eberhard Ehlers

Contributions of biotechnology to the treatment of the widespread disease diabetes mellitus

Diabetes is a widespread disease. Approximately 10% of the world's population suffers from this disease. The causes, long-term consequences and treatment options for the disease are presented. Using the example of the production of human insulin and insulin analogues, the contribution that biotechnology, especially genetic engineering, can make to the treatment of diabetes is shown. The basics of protein biosynthesis are explained in a generally understandable way.

Target group: Students and teachers of advanced science courses and upper secondary schools as well as the school community, chemistry teacher training centers, young chemist forums, adult education centers - Duration: 75 to 90 min

Nature as a model - isolation of new drugs from natural Literature

The cell as a chemical factory

Using the example of isolating antibiotics, plant ingredients and vitamins, it is shown what contribution nature makes in finding new drugs and how these active ingredients can be specifically modified through semi-synthesis. The difference between prokaryotic and eukaryotic cells is explained and the advantages of using a cell to produce drugs are discussed. Natural substances such as morphine, cocaine, atropine, artemisinin, penicillins, insulin and their importance for the treatment of diseases are presented.

Target group: Students and teachers of advanced science courses and upper secondary schools as well as the school community, chemistry teacher training centers, young chemist forums, adult education centers - Duration: 75 to 90 min

Isolation and purification of active pharmaceutical ingredients from culture broths

Many drugs (antibiotics, monoclonal antibodies, substances in the blood coagulation cascade, etc.) are now obtained by fermentation. It is shown which methods and procedures are used in “downstream processing” to isolate active pharmaceutical ingredients from fermentation broths and present them purely. The basic principles of extraction, chromatography, cell disruption and solid-liquid separation as well as freeze and spray drying are presented.

Target group: Students and teachers of advanced science courses and upper secondary schools as well as chemistry teacher training centers, young chemist forums - Duration: 75 to 90 min

Chromatography – a key technology for the production of biopharmaceuticals

When isolating and purifying active pharmaceutical ingredients using biotechnology or genetic engineering, chromatography plays an important role in both basic and high-level purification. The basics of chromatographic procedures are presented. The scale up and scale down of such procedures is discussed.

Target group: Students and teachers of advanced science courses and upper secondary schools as well as chemistry teacher training centers, young chemist forums - Duration: 75 to 90 min

The importance of biotechnology for the industrial production of new substances

The basics and applications of white, red and green biotechnology for the industrial production of substances are presented. Above all, selected enzymatic-chemical reactions for the production of active pharmaceutical ingredients are presented.

Target group: Students and teachers of advanced science courses and upper secondary schools as well as chemistry teacher training centers, young chemist forums - Duration: 75 to 90 min

Alternative forms of therapy

Fashion? Bestseller? Charlatanism? Placebo effect? What's behind it?

The use of homeopathy, anthroposophical medicine, Bach flower therapy and Schüßler salts to treat illnesses are presented. Placebo and no-placebo effects are explained. Mistletoe therapy for cancer is discussed in more detail. Animal-assisted forms of therapy are also reported. Pavlov's attempts at conditioning are discussed in detail.

Target group: Students and teachers of advanced science courses and upper secondary schools as well as the school community, chemistry teacher training centers, young chemist forums, adult education centers - Duration: 75 to 90 min

Molecules that move the world (Part 1)

Subtitle: Small molecules, big impact

The influence of small chemical molecules [carbon dioxide, uranium dioxide, nitrogen monoxide, nitrous oxide, oxygen, ozone, water, ethanol, methanal (formaldehyde)] on everyday human life is the subject of this lecture.

Target group: Students and teachers of advanced science courses and upper secondary schools as well as the school community, chemistry teacher training centers, young chemist forums, adult education centers - Duration: 75 to 90 min

Molecules that move the world (Part 2)

Molecules as the building blocks of life

Sugar, protein, nucleic acid and fat molecules and their physiological and therapeutic significance are presented.

Target group: Students and teachers of advanced science courses and upper secondary schools as well as the school community, chemistry teacher training centers, young chemist forums, adult education centers - Duration: 75 to 90 min

Molecules that move the world (Part 3)

Active ingredient molecules that have made history

Molecules such as morphine, cocaine, caffeine, ethanol, etc. are presented and how they have influenced the music scene in particular. Natural and synthetic drugs as well as possible ways to combat drugs are also discussed. Addiction and combating addiction are discussed.

Target group: Students and teachers of advanced science courses and upper secondary schools as well as the school community, chemistry teacher training centers, young chemist forums, adult education centers - Duration: 75 to 90 min

Molecules that move the world (Part 4)

Subtitle: From the molecular formula to the genetic code

The lecture shows how information can be passed on using a chemical formula and its spatial structure. It also discusses how the genetic code comes about and what role the amino acid sequence plays in the properties of proteins and enzymes.

Target group: Students and teachers of advanced science courses and upper secondary schools as well as the school community, chemistry teacher training centers, young chemist forums, adult education centers - Duration: 75 to 90 min

Serendipity or the role of chance in discovery

How does the new get into the world?

The term “serendipity” is explained and examples are given of how chance and not targeted search played a key role in many discoveries (sticky notes, dynamite, Velcro, the effects of pharmaceuticals, vulcanization, credit cards, and much more).

Target group: Students and teachers of advanced science courses and upper secondary schools as well as the school community, chemistry teacher training centers, young chemist forums, adult education centers - Duration: 75 to 90 min

150 years of the periodic table of elements

The history and development of the Periodic Table of Elements (PSE) is covered; newer elements and their discovery are presented. Selected examples illustrate how the position of an element in the periodic table allows conclusions to be drawn about its physical and, above all, chemical properties. The key role of an element's electron configuration (atomic shell structure) on its properties is discussed. The oblique relationships in the PSE are discussed. The typical properties of metals, metalloids and non-metals are presented.

Target group: Students and teachers of advanced science courses and upper secondary schools as well as the school community, chemistry teacher training centers, young chemist forums, adult education centers - Duration: 75 to 90 min

Women and natural sciences

Does the Nobel Prize need a quota for women?

The CVs of selected female scientists (Curie, Meitner, Immerwahr, Kwolek, etc.) are presented and the important contribution that many female scientists have made to their field is discussed, but this has not always received the right recognition and appreciation in the professional world. But women who have been awarded the Nobel Prize are also honored in this presentation. In addition, female scientists who have made Career outside their field in art and politics (Adorno, Hamm-Brücher, Merkel, Schwätzer, Thatcher, among others) are presented.

Target group: Students and teachers of advanced science courses and upper secondary schools as well as the school community, chemistry teacher training centers, young chemist forums, adult education centers - Duration: 75 to 90 min

Unlucky people in science and business [NEW]

The biographies of scientists in physics, chemistry, life sciences and medicine are presented who were creative and made groundbreaking inventions, but whose achievements were not always appropriately recognized. Such “unlucky people” also include highly respected researchers who, for example, were passed over for the Nobel Prize. Such people were often misunderstood and even ostracized in their time and it was only much later that their ideas were realized for the benefit of society. The differences between inventing, developing, creating and discovering are discussed in more detail.

Target group: Students and teachers of advanced science courses and upper secondary schools as well as the school community, chemistry teacher training centers, young chemist forums, adult education centers - Duration: 75 to 90 min

Pain and its treatment [NEW]

The causes of pain and their treatment options are explained. Phenomena such as “paradoxical pain” (analgesic pain) and “phantom pain” are discussed. Dependence on painkillers is discussed. General aspects of addiction are presented. The physiological processes of pain transmission are discussed.

Target group: Students and teachers of advanced science courses and upper secondary schools as well as the school community, chemistry teacher training centers, young chemist forums, adult education centers - Duration: 75 to 90 min

The discovery of nitroglycerin and what became of it [NEW]

It is presented how Ascania Sobrero discovered nitroglycerin by chance and how Alfred Nobel developed dynamite. The importance of dynamite in the construction of roads, tunnels and railways over the past century is explained using examples (Gotthard Tunnel). It also describes how the Nobel Foundation's funds are now used as prize money for the highest scientific award - the Nobel Prize. The use of nitroglycerin and its derivatives in medicine for the treatment of angina pectoris is also discussed.

Target group: Students and teachers of advanced science courses and upper secondary schools as well as the school community, chemistry teacher training centers, young chemist forums, adult education centers - Duration: 45 to 60 min

Drugs and addiction

a problem of all societies

Against the background of possible cannabis legalization, which is presented in detail, the abuse of drugs (morphine, heroin, cocaine, mescaline, cathol, etc.) and stimulants (alcohol, nicotine, caffeine) as well as the development of addiction, including dependence on Medicines (amphetamines, fentanyl derivatives, benzodiazepines). The example of well-known artists shows the effects that drugs and addiction have on the quality of life. Paths to therapy and prevention are shown.

Target group: Students and teachers of advanced science courses as well as middle and high school students, the school community, chemistry teacher training centers, young chemist forums, adult education centers and related educational institutions. - Duration: 75 – 90 minutes

The world of large molecules! – Plastics: curse or blessing?

The most important plastics, their applications and properties are presented. Some basic concepts of polymer chemistry are explained. Due to the development of the world population and the basic needs of people, it is explained why we cannot do without plastics - despite some disadvantages. The health risks posed by PFAS are pointed out and littering of the oceans is discussed. The problems with micro- and nanoplastics are discussed.

Target group: Students and teachers of advanced science courses and upper secondary schools as well as the school community and extracurricular educational institutions, chemistry teacher training centers, young chemist forums - Duration: 60 minutes

Gimbacher Weg 25
D-65779 Kelkheim am Taunus
Email: Senior Expert Chemists

Music for the eye

Color, chemistry and function of effect pigments

The development of chemical-pharmaceutical chemistry is closely linked to the development of dyes and is also an industrial innovation driver. The global competition for our chemical site is a constant challenge for new products and problem solutions. Effect pigments are an example of the successful implementation of a new concept for color and function. In addition to classic absorption and metallic pigments, these combine shimmering, bright colors with attractive gloss effects. They are based on the natural model of mother-of-pearl, mineral or structure colors. As multi-layer pigments, they are accessible on a large scale through an intelligent combination of simple, technical and chemical processes and are increasingly being used as functional materials.

Target group: students, teachers and the school community - Duration: 45-60 minutes

Curiosity and Scientific Progress

Target group: Science teachers, students of advanced science courses - Duration: 60 minutes

Function, invention, innovation

Key technology chemistry

Target group: students, teachers and the school community - Duration: 60 minutes

Chemistry for energy storage technologies

Target group: students, teachers and the school community - Duration: 45-60 minutes

Weingasse 22
65817 Eppstein
Gerhard Kreysa

Strategy, visions and illusions to save the climate

The history and development of the term ?sustainable? are presented and the causes of the disturbed carbon cycle are discussed. In addition, facts about the climate, the wrong path of biofuels, climate engineering, the rehabilitation of the atmosphere through geolocation of wood and the carbon moratorium are addressed and discussed.

Target group: Schoolchildren and teachers of advanced natural science courses and the upper level as well as the school community, advanced training centers for chemistry teachers, forums for young chemists, adult education centers - duration: 60 to 75 minutes

Berwartsteinstrasse 4
D-67434 Neustadt ad Weinstrasse
Ekkehard Schwab

Energy, our elixir of life – where does it come from, where is it going?

According to the motto "Use numbers, not adjectives", the lecture puts the political discussion about renewable energies and climate change in the context of the dimensions of our current energy system. Access to affordable energy sources has fueled the development of human societies in the past. Standard of living and per capita consumption of primary energy correlate significantly, but the values scatter remarkably.

The targets for reducing emissions of greenhouse gases are most likely only realistic if the replacement of fossil primary energy with renewable (solar) Literature is combined with a much more efficient use of energy. The latter is not only a technical but also a social and behavioral issue.

Duration: 45-60 minutes
Target group: Students, especially MINT students and students of MINT advanced courses, science teachers, school community, adult education centers, chemistry teacher training centers, SEC (for science forum, annual meeting, SEC lecturer)

Change in the use of raw materials for the chemical industry

The chemical industry in Germany currently has a share of about 5% in the world market. Their carbon-containing products are mainly made from the energy sources oil (72%) and gas (14%). After all, 13% of the products are based on renewable raw materials. At less than 2%, coal is practically irrelevant. Overall, the German chemical industry uses around 20 million tons of organic raw materials and the same amount of inorganic raw materials such as common salt.

The raw materials of the chemical industry have been and are constantly being adapted. At the beginning of the 19th century, wood was the raw material. Later, coal changed the entire industry and growth accelerated. After 1945, oil became the dominant global commodity. However, coal and especially gas in the USA are (again) gaining in importance in China.

The future of raw material supply will therefore be more diverse than in the past, there will no longer be a single dominant global raw material. Instead, there will be much greater regional diversification of commodities. This demands a significant broadening of their technology portfolio, particularly from globally active companies such as BASF.

Duration: 45-60 minutes
Target group: Students, especially MINT students and students of MINT advanced courses, science teachers, school community, adult education centers, chemistry teacher training centers, SEC (for science forum, annual meeting, SEC lecturer)

Industrial catalysis - a crucial success factor for the chemical industry

Catalysts play a central role in chemical industry processes. Both the raw material and the energy requirements of processes depend crucially on the quality of the catalysts used.

The development of such products is an extraordinarily varied and challenging task. Mastering them requires mastering a large number of specialist disciplines. A technical catalyst is much more than an "active center" and is often the result of a balanced compromise between several actually contradictory target values.

The lecture examines these aspects and uses a concrete example to show what unconventional results such a development process can lead to.

Duration: 45-60 minutes
Target group: Students, especially MINT students and students of MINT advanced courses, science teachers, school community, adult education centers, chemistry teacher training centers, SEC (for science forum, annual meeting, SEC lecturer)

Raw material changes in the (petro)chemical industry

The chemical industry in Germany currently has a share of about 5% in the world market. Their carbon-containing products are mainly made from the energy sources oil (72%) and gas (14%). After all, 13% of the products are based on renewable raw materials. At less than 2%, coal is practically irrelevant. In total, the German chemical industry uses around 20 million tons of organic raw materials. The chemical industry is an energy-intensive industry, the main sources of energy being gas and electricity.

The raw materials of the chemical industry have been and are constantly being adapted. At the beginning of the 19th century, wood was the raw material. Later, coal changed the entire industry and growth accelerated. After 1945, oil became the dominant global commodity. However, coal and especially gas in the USA are (again) gaining in importance in China. The lecture explains the criteria used to select the raw material base at different locations. Technical processes for using all raw materials are known.

On a global scale, the chemical industry is the third largest industrial emitter of CO ₂ after steel and cement with a share of 8%. The key to reducing this share will be the availability of "green" electricity and hydrogen without an atmospheric CO ₂ backpack. Increasing the amount of carbon used from renewable raw materials is reaching ecological limits.

Duration: 60 minutes
Target group: Students, especially MINT students and students of MINT advanced courses, science teachers, school community, adult education centers, chemistry teacher training centers, SEC (for science forum, annual meeting, SEC lecturer)

Nelkenstrasse 36
D-76351 Linkenheim-Hochstetten
Klaus-Dieter Jany

Nice view 11
95448 Bayreuth
Dieter Kunz

Carbon - real gold

No element allows as diverse reaction possibilities as carbon. Beyond organic chemistry with its main protagonist carbon, carbon can even be found in space as a diamond (unfortunately difficult to access) but also in the soil as a fossil fuel, coal. Technical progress in materials science is often linked to our property record master (eg electrical current flow density [109 A / cm²] ? 100 times higher than with copper). The example of carbon shows how scientific knowledge can inspire technology and economy: the basis of the chemical industry!

Carbon in the atmosphere also influences the temperature through CO ₂ and soot particulate matter. The size of the effect is controversial. After the lecture everyone will know: Compared to gold, carbon is the more valuable material!

Target group: Pupils from MINT schools, especially from MINT advanced courses; Science teachers, school community, development associations, adult education centers, advanced training centers for chemistry teachers, SEC (annual meeting, science forum, SEC lecturer) - Duration: 45-60 minutes

Efficient, electric heating with carbon

Heating with carbon is nothing out of the ordinary. Every coal stove provides a vivid example. But you can also use the carbon for heating without burning it if you electrify it. This is how you imagine a carbon dispersion that you paint on the wallpaper with a lambskin roller like a wall paint, connect right and left with a copper tape and apply voltage. Why does it affect our body differently than the usual radiators? What other interesting things can be done with a ?paintable? heater?

lecture with a short demonstration

Target group: Pupils from MINT schools, especially from MINT advanced courses; Science teachers, school community, development associations, adult education centers, advanced training centers for chemistry teachers, SEC (annual meeting, science forum, SEC lecturer)
Duration: 45-60 minutes

Fiber composite materials - efficient materials based on nature's example

When nature needs stable structures, it does not create "bulwarks", but uses a combination of differently dense and solid materials with mostly fiber-like components. Wood is a typical example of this. But why is this combination of materials so important? Why does a pane of glass break when you bend it, but the glass fiber doesn't? Also interesting: why are airplanes mostly made of fiber composite structures and cars almost not at all?

lecture with exhibits

Target group: Pupils from MINT schools, especially from MINT advanced courses; Science teachers, school community, development associations, adult education centers, advanced training centers for chemistry teachers, SEC (annual meeting, science forum, SEC lecturer)
Duration: 45-60 minutes

When does an investment pay off? Dealing with Risk

The management theory insists that a company can only successfully move into the future with an investment calculation. Even the layperson recognizes from various press reports that new plants or company acquisitions failed to achieve the expected success despite the investment calculation. So it is interesting to find out what the calculation can do and where its limits are. Because there is always a risk that often fades behind full-bodied promises.

Target group: Pupils from MINT schools, especially from MINT advanced courses; Science teachers, school community, development associations, adult education centers, advanced training centers for chemistry teachers, SEC (annual meeting, science forum, SEC lecturer)
Duration: 45-60 minutes

How can you calculate the IR absorption of CO ₂ with "on-board means"?

After reading Wikipedia about "greenhouse gas", you think you have understood how CO _{2 works} in the atmosphere. However, the statement that it contributes between 9% and 26% to the greenhouse effect makes us suspicious, although the global differences in concentration are very small in contrast to water vapor!

With the relatively simple photometric equation according to Lambert-Beer and spectroscopy data from the Internet (e.g. from HITRAN.org), after a calculation in Excel, one finds that the greenhouse effect of CO _{2 is} at least 26% - but the overall greenhouse effect is much, much smaller than generally stated. (Is this effect really comparable to the greenhouse?)

You don't have to be a ?climate expert? to understand the lecture . Knowledge of mathematics and physics from the upper school level is sufficient.

Target group: Pupils from MINT schools, especially from MINT advanced courses; Science teachers, school community, development associations, adult education centers, advanced training centers for chemistry teachers, SEC (annual meeting, science forum, SEC lecturer)
Duration: 45-60 minutes

Plastic waste: knowledge and speculation

The time to deal with materials without a head is slowly coming to an end. That is very positive in several ways. But is the damage caused by plastic waste and microplastic identified as a threat a legitimate justification for this? What is it about "plastic on your plate" and how do you find the huge plastic waste islands in the Pacific?

Target group: Pupils from MINT schools, especially from MINT advanced courses; Science teachers, school community, development associations, adult education centers, advanced training centers for chemistry teachers, SEC (annual meeting, science forum, SEC lecturer)
Duration: 45-60 minutes

Energy efficiency through material selection

The highest form of energy efficiency is usually not having to convert any energy. But when we convert energy, it is mostly for movement or for heat Management (heating, cooling). In the case of moving bodies, the "consumption" of energy depends on their mass, which is why lighter materials are to be preferred; is that really always true? Foam-like materials are the first choice for efficient heat utilization. But not only!

Target group: Pupils from MINT schools, especially from MINT advanced courses; Science teachers, school community, development associations, adult education centers, advanced training centers for chemistry teachers, SEC (annual meeting, science forum, SEC lecturer)
Duration: 45-60 minutes