“What is materials science and where do we encounter it in everyday life?”

15 interested girls from Darmstadt and the surrounding area got to the bottom of these questions on the nationwide Girls'Day on April 3, 2025.

Accompanied by MaWi Bachelor students, they explored various laboratories and learned about the main areas of research as well as their possible applications.

Dwarf world: The Physics of Surfaces provided an insight into the mechanical properties on the nanometer scale.

Lotus effect: In the Physical Metallurgy , they were able to measure and observe for themselves how well the lotus effect works on metallic surfaces.

Biomedicine: The magnetic butterflies and possible future applications in medicine were presented in Functional Materials .

Energy transition: The girls were given an insight into research into renewable energies at the Surface Science Laboratory .

Of course, the interested girls were also allowed to get active themselves and built their own fuel cells under the guidance of a MaWi student. At the end of the day, there was a demonstration of the superconductor hoverboard, where everyone was able to show their skateboarding skills.

Girls'Day, an initiative of the Federal Ministry of Education and Research (BMBF) and the Federal Ministry for Family Affairs, Senior Citizens, Women and Youth (BMFSFJ), is a nationwide campaign that presents schoolgirls with a wide range of professions and activities.

The aim of this initiative is to arouse the interest of young women in scientific and technical professions and to give them an insight into the exciting world of research.