Discover tiny worlds: Microbiology at primary school

For the 5th year in a row, the University of Neuchâtel is allowing its biology and doctoral students to impart their knowledge of microbiology to primary schools. Axonlab will continue to support this exciting project in 2024.

The service-learning programme was launched by the University of Neuchâtel in 2020. Third-year bachelor and doctoral students in biology are developing workshops to impart their knowledge to pupils in the 3rd to 7th HarmoS classes. 

Children between the ages of 6 and 12 are introduced to microbiology topics in a playful and practical way, filling the gap in the general school programme and linking these two worlds which are otherwise non-connected. In 2023, for example, they learned about bread, yogurt or kombucha making, played a card game that demonstrated the interaction between microbes and the human organism, or watched a kamishibai theatre about the history of microbes in the water cycle. The focus was on the presence of microbes in food and their influence on the human body.

Two fascinating additional projects were also carried out last year. The first taught children aged 4 to 11 and senior citizens about the key factors in the growth of cyanobacteria and their impact on health. The second project enabled children to explore the origins of life on their free Wednesday afternoon. This was made possible by the collaboration of PhD students and the Neuchâtel Botanical Garden through the program “L’Atelier des musées”.

For students, this commitment is a good opportunity to get involved in society and deepen their professional knowledge. Schools can use the service free of charge and, thanks to the support of sponsors such as Axonlab, the University of Neuchâtel provides the equipment and reagents needed to carry out the experiments directly in the classroom or in the training laboratory.

Read more about the «Microbes go to school» project.