Did you know that anyone can help out with academic research, and bring a more sustainable world closer? Get inspired by the University Museum’s expo Beyond the Lab, where you can see multiple examples of DIY science: projects where scientists, students and other people work together to get better results.

Mosquito hunters

For example the project by Doreen Walther: The mosquito mapper. Doreen is a scientist and a mosquito expert, but the people helping her are not. In 2012 she set up the Mosquito Atlas project to create a nationwide network of amateur mosquito catchers, who mail thousands of mosquitoes to her every year from all across Germany. Mosquitoes can carry dangerous viruses, so Doreen’s work – and the network of citizen scientists who support it – provides a vital monitoring service that helps the German government predict and plan for potential disease outbreaks.

Antibiotics hackers

In one of Amsterdam’s oldest buildings is a room filled with home-made microscopes, Petri dishes and local people making and experimenting. Pieter van Boheemen is at the heart of this hustle and bustle. Through hands-on workshops and events, Pieter is working to make biology accessible to all. His do-it-yourself antibiotics project invites people from around the world to search for a solution to one of today’s biggest medical challenges: antibiotic resistance.

By collecting plants and mixing them with certain ingredients in a Petri dish, citizens can find out if they found a plant with antibiotic properties.

See this project and many more at the University Museum’s exposition Beyond the Lab.

I like clean air

Science is no longer just for scientists, anyone can participate!

London’s streets have some of the most polluted air in Europe. Shazia Ali–Webber is a passionate campaigner for clean air in the city and one of thousands of people around the world who are using air monitoring devices to measure pollution in their homes and neighbourhoods. Often working in collaboration with professional researchers, citizen scientists such as Shazia are using scientific evidence to gain a better understanding of their local environment and to campaign for change.

Learn more about measuring measuring air quality at the University Museum’s exposition Beyond the Lab.

The Beyond the Lab exhibition is an initiative of Sparks Ecsite in collaboration with the University of Groningen. Participating parties are: Science LinX, University Museum, Pre University Academy, Minerva Academy, Studium Generale, and Fablab Groningen.