Science Education

Formerly known as European Learning Laboratory for the Life Sciences

Our inspiring educational experiences share the scientific discoveries of EMBL with young learners aged 10-19 years and teachers in Europe and beyond. We belong to EMBL’s Science Education and Public Engagement office.

Events

All year round, EMBL’s Science Education and Public Engagement office runs a variety of events and activities for teachers, school students, young people in the out-of-school context and the wider public. Events include continued professional development courses for teachers, science projects with schools, exhibitions and workshops at national and international science festivals and conferences, local science engagement workshops and the annual EMBL Insight Lecture.

Upcoming Events

13 December 2024
EMBL Insight Lecture 2024
Imaging life – How modern microscopes revolutionise biology
Virtual

21 Oct – 1 Dec 2024
Molecular Biology Techniques 2024
Self-paced course for educators and enthusiasts about molecular biology techniques

Diving into the world of Plankton
BIOcean5D Professional Development Workshop for Teachers
BIOcean5D teacher workshop

Past Events 2024

7 – 9 Oct 2024
Connecting the classroom with genomic research
Train-the-trainer course

1 May – 9 Jun 2024
The CRISPR revolution 2024
Self-paced course

4 – 17 Mar 2024
Navigating the Genomic Landscape
Virtual LearningLAB 

Past Events 2023-2003

2023

27 Nov – 13 Jan 2024
The human microbiome in health and disease
Self-paced course

14 November 2023
EMBL Insight Lecture 2023
Uncovering the origin of learning and memory – A journey into the evolution of nervous systems
Virtual

27 – 29 Sep 2023
New ways of teaching ecology
On-site course

25 April-7 May 2023
Virtual LearningLAB
Exploring ecosystems
Virtual

9 January-12 March 2023
Future Learn course
Genomics for Educators
Virtual

2022

2 December 2022
EMBL Insight Lecture 2022
The shapes of life: modelling how cells self-organise
Virtual

24 October-6 November 2022
Virtual LearningLAB
The cellular basis of life
Virtual

23 October 2023
Meet and Code Day at TECHNOSEUM
Public event on coding
TECHNOSEUM Mannheim

2-22 May 2022
Future Learn course
Genomics for Educators
Virtual

18 May 2022
TeachingBASE workshop
Fluorescent recombinants
Virtual

12 May 2022
TeachingBASE workshop
Copy that!
Virtual

6 April 2022
TeachingBASE workshop
Copy that!
Virtual

2021

22 Nov.-5 Dec. 2021
ELLS LearningLAB
Introducing your microbiome
Virtual

12 November 2021
EMBL Insight Lecture 2021
Cells, computers and microscopy: how can AI pave the way to scientific discovery?
Virtual

19-22 Oct. 2021
Forscher:Zeit
Local science workshops for 7-12 year olds in collaboration with Habito
Mehrgenerationenhaus Schweizer Hof, Heidelberg

20 Sept.-3 Oct. 2021
ELLS LearningLAB
The CRISPR revolution
Virtual

5 August 2021
International Summer Science School Heidelberg (ISH) 2021
Summer school for high school students from Heidelberg partner cities
Virtual

12 April-2 May 2021
ELLS LearningLAB
Taking a fresh look: teaching molecular biology techniques in the classroom
Virtual

26 March 2021
Seminar for educators
Mind the gap – How teachers can strengthen science learning and empower students
Virtual

2020

11 December 2020
EMBL Insight Lecture 2020
“Discover RNA – the language of genomes”, presented by Prof. Matthias Hentze
EMBL Heidelberg, Germany and live-stream

2 Nov.-7 Dec. 2020
ELLS virtual Learning LAB
“Introducing your microbiome”
Virtual international teacher training course

25 October 2020
Meet and Code Day at TECHNOSEUM
Virtual event on coding for the public
Virtually via TECHNOSEUM

2019

12 December 2019
EMBL Insight Lecture 2019
Ageing and disease – what is the link?, presented by Prof. Dame Janet Thornton, EMBL-EBI
EMBL-EBI, UK and live-stream

27 September 2019
European Researchers’ Night: Nacht der Forschung Heidelberg | Mannheim 
Regional science festival
EMBL Heidelberg

21 July – 17 August 2019
International Summer Science School Heidelberg (ISH) 2019
Summer school for high school students from Heidelberg partner cities
EMBL Heidelberg

16 May 2019
Local science workshops for 7-12 year olds in collaboration with Habito
Mehrgenerationenhaus Schweizer Hof, Heidelberg

4 April 2019
Forscher:Zeit
Local science workshops for 7-12 year olds in collaboration with Mehrgenerationenhaus Heidelberg
Schweizer Hof, Heidelberg

March – April 2019
Project “Von Natur bis Technik: Mikroskope in Aktion”
Fluorescent microscopy workshops with local school
Internationale Gesamtschule Heidelberg

28 March 2019
Girls’ Day at EMBL
Girls between 12-14 years get an insight into careers
EMBL Heidelberg

20 February 2019
REMIX – Science and Creative Industry
Art exhibition showing projects resulting from a collaboration between EMBL scientists and creative professionals, presented as part of the EMBL Annual Reception 2019
EMBL Heidelberg

18-20 February 2019
ELLS Learning LAB
“Genes of Change: New Ways of Teaching Evolutionary Biology”
International teacher training course
EMBL Heidelberg

7 February 2019
Forscher:Zeit
Local science workshops for 7-12 year olds in collaboration with Mehrgenerationenhaus Heidelberg
Schweizer Hof, Heidelberg

2018

13 December 2018
EMBL Insight Lecture 2018
Rhythms of Life – how cellular clocks function in development and disease, presented by Dr. Alexander Aulehla,
EMBL Heidelberg and live-stream

21 October 2018
Meet and Code Day at TECHNOSEUM
Event on coding for the public
TECHNOSEUM Mannheim, Germany

28 September 2018
European Researchers’ Night: Nacht der Forschung Heidelberg | Mannheim 
Regional science festival
EMBL Heidelberg

12-14 September 2018
ELLS LearningLAB
“Genes, Research and Disease: Discovering Genomics for the Classroom”
International teacher training course
Malta

13 May 2018
International Day of Museums at TECHNOSEUM
Hands-on activities focusing on biology and cells
TECHNOSEUM, Mannheim, Germany

26 April 2018
Girls’ Day at EMBL
Girls between 12-14 years get an insight into careers at EMBL Heidelberg

25-27 March 2018
ELLS LearningLAB
“The molecule of life: decoding the message of DNA”,
international teacher training in collaboration with ExploHeidelberg, taking place in Heidelberg

16 March 2018
Biophysics week at EMBL
As part of the “Science in School” outreach program, ELLS in collaboration with EMBL School Ambassadors will organize a Biophysics-themed visit of the Institute for a group of around 100 international high school students. The day will feature guided tours of the facilities, scientific talks on Biophysics research at EMBL, as well as science discussions and career panels focused on interdisciplinary in Biology.

2017

1 December 2017
EMBL Insight Lecture 2017
“Seeing is believing – How technology enables structural biology”,
presented by Thomas R. Schneider, Senior Scientist and Group Leader at EMBL Hamburg, taking place at EMBL Heidelberg, Germany and live-stream

25 September – 6 October 2017
“The Power of DNA Technology”
eTwinning Learning Event, European SchoolNet,
CDP course for international secondary school science teachers

21-25 June 2017
Explore Science
Science Festival, Luisenpark, Mannheim, Germany

2016

4 November 2016
Visit by Highlands School, Barcelona
EMBL Heidelberg

8 October 2016
Fête de la science, Grenoble
Grenoble, France

27 September 2016
Visit by Elisabeth Gymnasium, Mannheim
EMBL Heidelberg

16 September 2016
Visit by Jugend forscht-mentors
EMBL Heidelberg

11 & 12 July 2016
Visit by Gymnasium Konz
EMBL Heidelberg

2015

16 December 2015
Visit by Chemistry Olympiad, Heidehof Stiftung
EMBL Heidelberg

28 October 2015
Visit by BTG Calw
EMBL Heidelberg

22-24 October 2015
Science Days
Europapark Rust, Germany

August/September 2015
Tschira Jugendakademie
EMBL Heidelberg

22 July 2015
International Summer Science School Heidelberg (ISH) 2015
EMBL Heidelberg

16/17 July 2015
Visit by Gymnasium Konz
EMBL Heidelberg

6 July 2015
Visit by teachers of Goethe Institute Brussels
EMBL Heidelberg

29 March 2015
Visit by Leonardo da Vinci Gymnasium Neckargemünd
EMBL Heidelberg

2014

August – September 2014
Tschira Jugendakademie
EMBL Heidelberg

30-31 July 2014
International Summer Science School Heidelberg (ISH) 2014
EMBL Heidelberg

25-26 July 2014
EMBL Forschercamp
EMBL Heidelberg

4-5 July 2014
Fachtagung “Nie wieder Angst vor Wissenschaft!” 2014 – Wie man Schülerinnen und Schüler für Wissenschaft begeistert
Würzburg, Germany

1 April 2014
Visit by Heart Expedition (EU Comenius Project)
EMBL Heidelberg

24 March 2014
Visit by Croatian teachers
part of the project ‘Affirmative and Innovative Learning and Teaching in Gymnasiums based on the Croatian Qualifications Framework’ (EU IPA Project)
EMBL Heidelberg

11-13 March 2014
SAP InnoJam, Design Thinking challenge
Citizen Science project to crowd-source life on earth – taking stock of the planet’s biodiversity
CeBIT, Hannover, Germany

2013

7-8 October 2013
“Big Data – Big Challenges”
EMBL/SAP Design-Thinking Workshop für SchülerInnen und LehrerInnen
EMBL Heidelberg

17–19 July 2013
International Summer Science School Heidelberg (ISH) 2013
EMBL Advanced Training Centre, EMBL Heidelberg

6–7 June 2013
Fachtagung “Keine Angst vor Wissenschaft!” 2013 – Wie man Schülerinnen und Schüler für Wissenschaft begeistert
Rostock, Germany

27 April 2013
EMBL Open Day 2013 / EMBL Tag der offenen Tür 2013
EMBL Heidelberg

27 March 2013
Workshop “Forschern auf der Spur mit log2EMBL – ein Blended Learning Konzept”
104. MNU-Bundeskongress 2013
Universität Hamburg

2012

26-27 November 2012
Biology 2.0 – making sense of biological data
EMBL-EBI, Hinxton

15-16 November 2012
Alleskönner Antikörper – Einsatz in Wissenschaft, Diagnostik und Therapie
ExploHeidelberg / EMBL Heidelberg

9-10 November 2012
Presentation of the iStage project
You can find the newly developed teaching resource here.
SAP Berlin

4-5 October 2012
Log in to Science – Forschern auf der Spur
experimenta Heilbronn / EMBL Heidelberg

17–20 July 2012
International Summer Science School Heidelberg (ISH) 2012
EMBL Advanced Training Centre, EMBL Heidelberg

2011

24 -26 November 2011
On the Fly: A Practical Course for Teachers on Development in Drosophila melanogaster
IRB  Barcelona, Spain

9-11 November 2011
Better Biology with Bioinformatics
EMBL-EBI, Hinxton, Cambridge

9 – 12 October 2011
EIROforum Teachers School – Physics and Chemistry of Life
EPN Campus Grenoble

20–22 July 2011
International Summer Science School Heidelberg (ISH) 2011
EMBL Advanced Training Centre, EMBL Heidelberg

19 – 20 May 2011
iNEXT-Abschlusskonferenz
EMBL Advanced Training Centre, EMBL Heidelberg

7 – 11 April 2011
MNU 102. Bundeskongress 2011
Mainz, Germany

16 – 19 April 2011
Science on Stage Festival
Copenhagen, Denmark

6-8 April 2011
Stem Cells at the Forefront
EMBL Monterotondo

21 – 23 March 2011
European Schools Science Symposium 2011 (ESSS 2011)
hosted by the European School Brussels II at EUROCONTROL
Brussels, Belgium

18 March 2011
The long and fascinating journey of the research on stem cells
Sapienza Universita’ di Roma, Rome, Italy

24-25 February 2011
A New Look at the Cell Cycle
EMBL Heidelberg

2010

29 October – 7 November 2010
Genoa Science Festival Genoa, Italy

14-16 October 2010
Science Days 2010
Europapark Rust, Germany

22 – 24 September 2010
Molecole e cellule a colori
EMBL CusMiBio Milan

21–23 July 2010
International Summer Science School Heidelberg (ISH) 2010
EMBL Heidelberg

2 – 7 July 2010
EuroScience Open Forum (ESOF) 2010Turin, Italy

12 June 2010
Science Picnic 2010
Warsaw, Poland

10 – 12 May 2010
From Cells to Tissues to Organisms – Biology in 3D
EMBL Heidelberg

21 – 24 March 2010
European Schools Science Symposium 2010 (ESSS 2010)
Hosted by the European School Luxembourg

8 – 10 March 2010
Enhancing biology teaching using biological databases
EMBL-EBI Hinxton

1 – 3 March 2010
Colors of Life: New Frontiers of Microscopy
EMBL Monterotondo

2009

23 October – 1 November 2009
Genoa Science Festival
Genoa, Italy

15 – 17 October 2009
Science Days 2009
Europa Park Rust, Germany

28 – 30 September 2009
Teaching Molecular Evolution in School
EMBL Heidelberg

21 – 23 July 2009
International Summer Science School Heidelberg (ISH)
EMBL Heidelberg
An initiative of the City of Heidelberg

15 – 17 July 2009
L’evoluzione della teoria di Darwin
EMBL Monterotondo

1 – 3 July 2009
The Power of DNA Technologies
EMBL Heidelberg

15 – 17 April 2009
New frontiers of research on genetic diseases: from the lab to the classroom
Instituto de Biologia y Genetica Molecular (IBGM) Valladolid, Spain

26 – 27 March 2009
iNEXT Students Lab
EMBL Heidelberg
funded by the Robert Bosch Stiftung, Germany

18 – 20 March 2009
Cell Cycle and Disease
EMBL Heidelberg

18 – 20 March 2009
Brain Awareness Week Napoli: Exploring the brain
Stazione Zoologica Anton Dohrn – Villa Comunale, Naples

15 – 18 March 2009
European Schools Science Symposium 2009 (ESSS 2009)
Hosted by the European School Frankfurt

28 – 30 January 2009
Molecular evolution: modern evidence for Darwin’s theory
Molecular Biotechnology Center (MBC), Torino (Italy)

2008

22 – 24 October 2008
Conoscere il sistema nervoso
EMBL Monterotondo

9 – 11 October 2008
Science Days 2008
Europa Park Rust, Germany

29 September – 1 October 2008
Bringing challenging DNA science topics into the classroom
EMBL Heidelberg

23 – 25 July 2008
International Summer Science School Heidelberg (ISH) 2008
EMBL Heidelberg

18 – 20 July 2008
ESOF 2008
Barcelona

13 – 20 July 2008
The International Biology Olympiad (IBO)

9 – 11 July 2008
Approaching contemporary biomedical science topics in the classroom
EMBL Heidelberg

2 – 4 July 2008
New frontiers of research on genetic diseases
EMBL Monterotondo

24 – 26 April 2008
Structural Biology – Deciphering the chemistry of life
EMBL Hamburg / International School Hamburg

24 – 26 April 2008
Structural Biology – Deciphering the chemistry of life
EMBL Hamburg / International School Hamburg

March / April 2008
LiveLABs, laboratory activities for students
EMBL Monterotondo

14 March 2008
Conference “The brain: let’s try to understand it…”
EMBL Monterotondo
High school teachers and students / Free entrance

13 – 14 March 2008
The brain week
Stazione Zoologica Anton Dohrn – Villa Comunale, Napoli

12 – 14 March 2008
Introducing new approaches to teaching evolution in secondary schools
EMBL Heidelberg

6 – 7 March 2008
European Schools Science Symposium (ESSS)
Varese

6 – 8 February 2008
Learning about the brain
EMBL Monterotondo

2007

3 – 5 October 2007
Benefits and risks of the new technologies applied to the DNA
EMBL Monterotondo

Science on Stage 2007
Grenoble
21 – 30 September 2007

XI Warsaw Science Festival
Warsaw, Poland

9 – 15 September 2007
BA Festival of Science 2007
University of York, UK

4 – 7 September 2007
From Science to Medicine
IBMC, Porto, Portugal

18-20 July 2007
International Summer Science School Heidelberg (ISH) 2007
Visit to EMBL Heidelberg

4 – 6 July 2007
The power of DNA technology: applications and risks
EMBL Heidelberg

18 June 2007
Mini-simposio “Educazione scientifica: una risorsa preziosa per scuole e scienziati”
EMBL Monterotondo

25 May 2007
Visit to the BioAcademy Group
European School Brussels I

17 – 19 May 2007
New biology for new curricula
6th international EMBO workshop on secondary school biology education
EMBL Heidelberg

11 – 14 March 2007
European Schools Science Symposium (ESSS)
Brussels

28 February – 2 March 2007
Introducing new approaches to teaching biology in secondary schools
EMBL Heidelberg

8-9 February 2007
Bio-Academy visits EMBL
The Bio-Academy is a pilot project involving a class of students from Brussels European School and EMBL scientists
EMBL Heidelberg

2006

24 – 25 November 2006
Portuguese Science on Stage National Event
Lisbon

12 – 14 October 2006
Science Days
Rust

4 – 6 October 2006
Challenging molecules
EMBL Heidelberg

19 – 21 July 2006
International Summer Science School Heidelberg (ISH)
Visit to EMBL Heidelberg

26 – 28 June 2006
Cutting edge technologies in Biosciences
Hellenic Pasteur Institute Athens

11 – 13 May 2006
From School to University (in English)
5th international EMBO workshop on secondary school biology education
EMBO Heidelberg

7 – 8 April 2006
Exploring the molecules of life
Kherson, Ukraine

3 – 4 April 2006
Exploring molecules: from structure to function
Practical course to discover structural biology
EMBL Grenoble

27 – 29 March 2006
European School Symposium
Biology at work: a journey through applied life sciences
High School Writing Competition
EMBL Heidelberg

26 – 29 March, 2006
European Schools Science Symposium (ESSS)
Launch of EIROforum Science in School

Hosted by EMBL Heidleberg

23 – 24 February 2006
Genes and Diseases (in Italian)
Milan University (Centro per la diffusione della cultura scientifica nelle scuole medie superiori- Cus-Mi-Bio)

15 – 16 February 2006
Bio-Academy visits EMBL
The Bio-Academy is a pilot project involving a class of students from Brussels European School and EMBL scientistsEMBL Heidelberg

2005

1 – 3 December 2005
7th International EMBL PhD Symposium
Biology at work: a journey through applied life sciences
PhD student and High School writing competition
EMBL Heidelberg

2 December 2005
Genetic screen simulation using the Nature’s Dice kit
Produced by the National Centre for Biotechnology Education, Reading University, UK

21 – 25 November 2005
Science on stage
Science teaching festival: science for humanity
CERN, Geneva

11 November 2005
Visit to the BioAcademy
European School Brussels I

1 October 2005
Science on Stage National Event
Lisbon, Portugal

30 September – 1 October 2005
Science on Stage National Event
Athens, Greece

19 – 21 September 2005
Challenging molecules
EMBL Heidelberg, Germany

6 – 9 September 2005
From DNA to Protein
IBMC Porto, Portugal

20 – 21 July 2005
International Summer Science School Heidelberg (ISH) 2005
Visit to EMBL Heidelberg

27 – 29 May 2005
Exploring the molecules of life
In collaboration with the Bogdan Khmelnitsky Cherkasy National University
Cherkasy National University

13 – 14 May 2005
EMBO 4th International Workshop
Spotlight on teachers
EMBO Heidelberg

13  – 15 April 2005
Ukrainian delegation visits ELLS

1 March 2005
Robert Bosch Foundation, NaT-Working Programme
Visit to EMBL
EMBL Heidelberg

17 – 19 January 2005
PERL course II
Landesakademie Baden-Württemberg, Esslingen, Germany

2004

6 – 8 December 2004
Stem cells: promises and challenges
EMBL Monterotondo, Italy

2 – 4 December 2004
5th International EMBL PhD Symposium: Design of life: learning from nature
European PhD student writing competition
EMBL Heidelberg

24 – 26 November 2004
From organisms to genes
University of Milan Centro Universitá – Scuola per Bioscienze-CUS-MI-BIO, Italy

9 November 2004
An introduction to the ELLS
Round table discussion
Altes Kurfürstliches Gymnasium Bensheim, Germany

30 September – 2 October 2004
From molecules to organisms
EMBL Heidelberg, Germany

27 – 29 September 2004
PERL Course I
Landesakademie Baden-Württemberg, Esslingen, Germany

7 – 10 September 2004
From DNA to protein: science and school
Institute for Molecular and Cellular Biology (IBMC), Porto, Portugal

7 – 9 July 2004
From molecules to organisms
EMBL Heidelberg, Germany

20 – 21 May 2004
EMBO Teachers’ Workshop
Molecules in medicine: an update for the classroom
EMBO Heidelberg

19 April 2004
Escola Carolina Michaelis
“Go to the classroom” ActivityPorto, Portugal

13 – 16 April 2004
Inspiring science
Gulbenkian Science Institute (IGC), Lisbon, Portugal

3 – 5 March 2004
From molecules to organisms
EMBL Heidelberg, Germany

2003

16 – 17 December 2003
Developmental biology and its impact on modern biology
“Go to the classroom” Activity
Contact teachers: Isabel Plantier and Maria Goreti Matos
Escola Secundária Professor Reynaldo dos Santos, e Escola EB1 n3 do Bom Retiro, Vila Franca de Xira, Portugal

7 – 15 November 2003
EIROforum Physics on Stage Festival
What fish can tell us about the formation of an eye
Physics Teaching Fair, ESTEC, Noordwijk, Netherlands

22 – 24 October 2003
From molecules to organism
EMBL Heidelberg, Germany

4 – 5 October 2003
Physics on Stage Festival
Portuguese National Event
Pavilhão do Conhecimento – Ciência Viva, Portugal

27 August 2003
From genes to cellular behaviour
EMBL Heidelberg, Germany

7 – 9 July 2003
From molecules to organisms
EMBL Heidelberg, Germany

4 June 2003
Teaching and learning life sciences at the interface to basic research: chances and challenges
Round table discussion
EMBL Heidelberg, Germany