"The microbes go to school" – school project

The University of Neuchâtel has its biology students and PhD students impart their microbiology knowledge to primary school pupils. An effective project that Axonlab is happy to support.

In 2020, the service-learning program was launched by the microbiology laboratory of the University of Neuchâtel. The program offers the possibility to third year Bachelor students, and since 2022 to Doctoral candidates, to develop workshops to share their knowledge with pupils in HarmoS classes 3 to 7.

Children aged 6 to 12 are introduced to topics in microbiology and their importance as a component of the biodiversity in ecosystems, filling a gap in the general school program. What does antibiotic resistance mean? What role do microorganisms play in ecosystems? The understanding of natural sciences is brought closer to society and curiosity is evoked in the children.

Microbiology at School

For the students, their participation to the class is a good opportunity to get involved in topics of public interest and at the same time to consolidate and pass on their acquired knowledge. The project takes place in the spring semester of the 3rd year of the Bachelor's program in biology.

This service is offered to schools free of charge. The University of Neuchâtel with help of sponsors provides the laboratory equipment, consumables and reagents required, so that the experiments can be carried out directly in the school classrooms or in the laboratories of the University. Axonlab is pleased to contribute so that the project lives on, fostering interest in microbiology among children and becoming an entry point for our next generation to pursue a career in natural sciences.

Microbiology for children

More about the project "The microbes goes to school"