Villa Kunterbunt

The villa – and the area around it – was teeming with people. On World Children’s Day, science proved to be anything but dry, and that was by no means down to the rain alone. The first h_da Science Picnic attracted more than 200 visitors to the Mathildenhöhe on 20 September. From 2 pm to 6 pm, the House of Design Darmstadt and its garden were as bustling as a beehive. Parents and children came and went – and usually stayed for a few hours in between.

By Daniel Timme, 21 September 2026

Just in time for the lecture to begin, around 40 listeners have gathered in the hall. The regular seats are taken, and the cushions on the floor are in high demand. The lecturer asks for silence. Everyday university life? Not a chance. Those sitting here and listening aren’t undergraduates, but primary school pupils. Only the parents have any experience of university. Prof. Dr Sven Linow is giving a children’s lecture on heat protection in schools. “Normally, a lecture lasts two full school lessons,” he explains by way of introduction. “Today I’ll try to cover it in 15 minutes.” Linow keeps his word. Afterwards, he spends another quarter of an hour answering questions from his young audience.

The children’s lecture thus reflects the programme as a whole: whilst there is teaching, explanation and demonstration, there is also plenty of scope for the children’s own thoughts and ideas. As a result, the young audience is unlikely to get bored any time soon. There are hands-on experiments, opportunities for painting and drawing, building, making and creating, a treasure hunt and a quiz.

Overwhelming internal response

The event was organised and co-ordinated by a team from the Service Centre for Research and Transfer (SFT) and the Media Department at h_da. “We came up with the idea for the format and gauged the response internally via email,” recalls Iris Rubinich, transfer officer at the SFT. “Within just a few weeks, a huge number of faculties got in touch with brilliant ideas and agreed to take part. It was overwhelming!”

This commitment is reflected in the diverse range of opportunities on offer at the Science Picnic. Professors, teaching staff and students from nine faculties, as well as other initiatives and institutions at h_da, are presenting small, accessible insights into their academic work for guests to experience first-hand. The following departments and centres are represented with their projects and facilities: Civil and Environmental Engineering, Chemical Engineering and Biotechnology, Electrical Engineering and Information Technology, Social Sciences, Design, Computer Science, Mechanical Engineering and Plastics Engineering, Media and Business, as well as the Centre of Excellence for Sustainable Development (KNE). The event is also made possible by sponsorship from Merck KGaA, as well as Sparkasse Darmstadt and Dieburg.

The h_da’s first Science Picnic is proving a great success. Yet the weather is hardly ideal for a picnic: it starts to rain shortly after the event begins. Whether it’s just drizzling or pouring down, however, matters little to the young science enthusiasts. The children try things out, watch demonstrations and listen to explanations, ask clever, original questions and make creative suggestions. Equipped with paper and pen, they set off on a biodiversity treasure hunt in the garden, finding, counting and identifying plants, or eagerly working on the science quiz.

In the House of Design and the pavilions in the garden, children experiment with pipettes and test tubes whilst learning about photosynthesis or water treatment. Building the city of the future or designing their favourite spot in the heat? LEGO bricks, modelling clay and coloured pencils are all on hand for this. SPARK MakerLab’s “Sense the Nature” offers experiments with sensors and electronics. And a few metres further on, there are opportunities to combine hardware and software: here, the kids can programme a LEGO SmartTrain and get it moving.

Mini rainforests to go

“The 100 preserving jars we brought with us were snapped up in no time,” says Mateo Brecic, who launched “Modolino” with Louis Rittersberger just under a year ago. With their do-it-yourself experiments, the two young Darmstadt residents now reach tens of thousands of parents and children via social media. Their current project: bottle gardens. Where gherkins or morello cherries were floating just a short while ago, mini rainforests are now growing: the children design their own bottle gardens, which they can then continue to nurture, tend and observe at home.

“I barely notice what opportunities are available in the pavilions next door because I’m constantly besieged,” says Jenny Rink, the founder of “Tapari”, with a laugh. Fascinated, the younger guests are trying out their interactive play mat – an audio adventure centred on a dragon, the course of which the children can control themselves. These more laid-back opportunities are also proving popular. Inside the quiet room, children and parents are sitting or lying down, relaxing whilst listening to an audio and video installation created by a media student. One floor above, a humanoid robot and a robot dog are being remotely controlled as they wander through a room. Many children are amazed and laugh – others are a little spooked and prefer to explore what there is to discover down the stairs.

Enthusiasm on both sides of the tables

“All are beaming and clearly enjoying themselves,” observes Prof. Dr Nicole Saenger, Vice-President for Research, Transfer and Sustainable Development at h_da. With a smile, she adds: “I get the impression that the staff behind the tables are having at least as much fun as the children and their parents in front of them.” Clearly, the enthusiasm is evenly shared. Most of the more than 200 guests, young and old, who make their way to the House of Design during the four-hour event, stay a while longer. Many parents are grateful for the coffee in the dreary weather, and the cake buffet is completely cleared by around 5 pm.

By the end of the Science Picnic, the noticeboard of the ‘Black Box’ – the stand for the hands-on and interactive activity – is covered in colourful notes. On them, children have sketched and described their own ideas. Anything is possible there. Rolling beds take sleepy children to school, moving houses transport people to the seaside; sweets are healthy, chewing gum replaces brushing your teeth, and mobile wind turbines automatically head wherever the wind is blowing. It seems they already have a grasp of many of the challenges we face. There is no shortage of innovative solutions. The early-career researchers will work out the details themselves in a few years’ time.

Contacts with the h_da Science Editorial Team

Christina Janssen
, Science Editor
, university communications
Tel.: +49.6151.533-60112
Email: christina.janssen@h-da.de

Photograph: Markus Schmidt

Full programme

Read the full programme for the 1st h_da Science Picnic on 20 September 2026 here: https://h-da.de/transfer/science-picnic.