Generating Electricity with Potatoes

Using Potatoes to generate electricity and light up lamps: With this experiment, 32 young researchers took their first steps in science at MEET Battery Research Center on 3 October. On the annual “Open the doors with the mouse” day, children aged between six and ten looked behind the doors of the institute and gained an insight into the electrifying world of battery research.

Together with scientists Dr Katrin Junghans and Dr Tobias Gallasch, the children discovered how to turn a tuber into a real power source that lights up a small diode. At the same time, the young participants learned interesting facts about electricity and batteries. The two MEET researchers provided answers to numerous questions such as: What actually is electricity? How does a battery work? And why is so much research being done into it?

While the young scientists were experimenting, the accompanying adults were given insights into the laboratories of the battery research center. During a guided tour, MEET Board Members Dr Adrienne Hammerschmidt and Dr Falko Schappacher presented the work of the institute and gave an overview of the current research.

Here Comes the Mouse!

Every year on German Unity Day, children throughout Germany have the opportunity to look behind doors that usually remain closed. At the event day "Doors open with the mouse", organized by the broadcaster Westdeutscher Rundfunk (WDR), children and parents experience factual stories like in the "Show with the Mouse" live on location. Almost 400 companies, factories, research laboratories, stadiums, farms, theatres, archives, workshops and initiatives open their doors to the public on this day. MEET Battery Research Center has been taking part in this nationwide day of action since 2017.