Discover Radboud University at the Weekend van de Wetenschap

25 September 2025 News item

The Weekend van de Wetenschap will take place on Saturday 4 and Sunday 5 October. At this science festival for young and old, you can meet researchers from Radboud University and try your hand at being a scientist. Discover the activities on campus and in the centre of Nijmegen.

4 October: science safari at the Latijnse School

On 4 October, you can visit the Latijnse School, one of the oldest buildings in the heart of Nijmegen. Scientists will take you on a scientific safari in the Brain Museum of the Donders Institute. Visit the Sensory Room, for example, and discover whether you can fool your own senses. Or make your own DNA visible in the DNA laboratory. Play language games, or see how creative your brain is in the art room. In the tickle lab, you can participate in special research and discover how well you can withstand tickling.

In the attic of the Latijnse School, you can discover in the Klokhuis Cinema how babies start learning in their mother's womb, why people with Parkinson's can walk better when they walk backwards, and how your DNA determines the colour of your eyes. Of course, you can also just look around the Brain Museum, which is full of surprising facts about the brain! Children aged 6 and older can join Dr. Neuro and the Brain Book to discover where memories are stored in the brain!

No registration is required; everyone is welcome between 12:00 and 17:00. The Latijnse School is located directly opposite the Stevenskerk, at Sint Stevenskerkhof 2.

5 October: Get started as a nature researcher or laboratory assistant

Are you a true researcher and do you love nature? Have you always wanted to see how much life there is in a single drop of water? Why does the soil under a lawn have different colours? Would you like to take a look around a real laboratory? On 5 October, you are welcome at the B-WARE Research Centre. Researchers from Radboud University and the Bargerveen Foundation have activities planned for families with children between the ages of 8 and 14.

On that day, you can conduct experiments with us, view aquatic life through a microscope, or observe how our laboratory technicians work in our laboratory. Would you prefer to be outdoors? Then we would be delighted to have you participate in soil drilling. We would be pleased to explain what you can learn from a soil profile. If you have any questions about nature, soil, or water quality, you have come to the right place!

B-WARE is located in the Mercator III building on the campus of Radboud University in Nijmegen. This building is number 18 on the map of the campus. Are you coming? Then register via the form at B-WARE, so we can make sure there are enough microscopes and experiments for everyone.

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Greenhouse complex and experimental garden

Come and visit our greenhouse complex and experimental garden on Sunday between 11 and 17 hrs. A lot of research is conducted in our greenhouse complex, for example into the effect of climate change on plants or pollination by insects. We will show you around and you can take part in experiments. Did you know, for example, that clean water is not only good because we can drink it? It is also home to lots of plants and animals. And did you know that ponds can also fart? Which water produces the most flies? Take a guess first and then come and measure it! You can also have your breath tested. Cows exhale a strong greenhouse gas. Some people do too. Have your breath tested to find out how you measure up!

Brain Museum in the Latijnse School

On Sunday 5 October the Brain Museum is open in the Latijnse School from 12 tot 17 uur.

NEMO Science Tour, InScience and De Bastei

Looking for more science? On 4 October, the NEMO Science Tour will be in Nijmegen. There you'll find spectacular experiments for all ages in a 25-minute (interactive!) demonstration. How does an aeroplane stay in the air? Why does the sound of a car change as it drives past you? How do you launch a rocket with a bicycle pump? The NEMO Science Tour will be in the Molenstraat in Nijmegen, near Ziekerstraat, on 4 October from 12:00 to 17:00.

There are also other places in Nijmegen you can visit during the Weekend van de Wetenschap. For example, you can take part in a demonstration of animal taxidermy at Museum de Bastei, and the InScience Film Festival is organising a screening of Nocturnes. A complete overview of all activities with more details can be found on the Weekend van de Wetenschap website.

Contact information

Organizational unit: Donders Institute for Brain, Cognition and Behaviour, Faculty of Science