The “Long Night of Science” on 24 September 2010 was yet another great success. Despite the mixed weather, several thousand visitors turned up at the Wechloy campus. It is the university’s largest public event, taking place for the second time following its successful launch in 2009.
The patron was Lower Saxony’s Minister for Science, Prof. Dr Johanna Wanka. From 5.00 pm until 1.00 am, all the schools and numerous other university departments presented a diverse programme of scientific activities to the public. More than 100 talks, laboratory tours and hands-on experiments, accompanied by exhibitions and film screenings, offered visitors of all ages fascinating insights into the world of science and research. University President Prof. Dr Babette Simon said she was particularly pleased that so many scientists had taken part in the Long Night. She added that this was also an expression of the university’s connection to the city and region of Oldenburg. At the same time, she noted, the public presentation of science and research also fulfils a part of the university’s social responsibility.
One of the highlights of the Long Night was the first-ever Science Slam. More than a hundred members of the public were in attendance as five early-career researchers competed with short presentations. The audience, acting as the jury, crowned Bernhard Ecker (Institute of Physics) ‘Slam Champion’ for his short talk ‘Solar Power from Plastic’. The Long Night was supported by the EWE Foundation, OLB AG, VWG, CeWe Color AG, the Oldenburg University Society (UGO) and famila Einkaufsland Wechloy. Media partners were the Nordwestzeitung and the weekly newspaper “DIE ZEIT”.

• An NWZ report can be found at: NWZ_27092010_LangeNachtderWissenschaft.pdf