MINT-Mach-Pass Inspires Children’s Curiosity for Science and Technology

Whether it’s Panini stickers for the European Football Championship, animal cards from a chocolate bar, or glittery stickers for a friendship book – collecting stickers has fascinated children for generations. Today, curious young explorers can collect a very special kind of sticker at RPTU (Rhineland-Palatinate Technical University): those of the MINT-Mach-Pass.

This unique hands-on program is designed for children aged 8 to 13 and has been running for three years in a row, taking place between April and June at various extracurricular learning sites. The goal is to inspire the next generation to explore the worlds of Mathematics, Informatics, Natural Sciences, and Technology in a playful and age-appropriate way.

This year, a total of 13 learning locations – eight in Landau and five in Kaiserslautern – participated, offering around 40 diverse and exciting events. After each successfully completed activity, children received a sticker for their pass, which they could exchange for a surprise at the big closing event held in Landau at the end of June.

The iLAB of the Department of Mechanical and Process Engineering was also part of the program once again, offering three opportunities to dive into the fascinating world of bioprocess engineering. The iLAB workshops carried catchy titles such as:

• “No Pizza Without Fungi – Biotechnology in the Kitchen”
• “What Color Is a Green Leaf?”
• “Tracking the Superpowers of Algae and Cyanobacteria”

Interest in the workshops was overwhelming: all sessions were fully booked, with long waiting lists reflecting the high demand. The lucky children who secured a spot not only had lots of fun, but also made amazing discoveries.

For example, they investigated the growth conditions of yeast and then baked their own pizza. In another session, they used chromatography to make different pigments in spinach leaves visible – and even solved the mystery of which black marker was used to draw a smiley on filter paper. In the third workshop, they learned how to make bubble tea pearls – and how to immobilize algae in alginate beads for exciting photosynthesis experiments.

In total, the iLAB team handed out 55 stickers to enthusiastic participants.

But the success of the MINT Discovery Pass is reflected not only in the number of stickers distributed. It also shows in the steadily growing demand, the positive feedback from parents – and above all in the joyful children who explore science today and may one day return to our university as students.