National Future Day at ETH Zurich
Are you interested in finding out more about a particular career? ETH Zurich is offering exactly what you’re looking for: on the morning of 14 November 2024, you can explore the great diversity of the professional world at ETH.
Our main offering is tailored to 5th to 7th grade pupils keen to find out more about work and study at ETH Zurich.
The event is open to children whose parents are already ETH members, as well as those of non-ETH employees. This year a quota of tickets will be available at a discount to families with a KulturLegi card.
Basic programme: ETH members can invite children from their own family, or those of relatives and friends, to accompany them to work and give them a taste of everyday working life – as long as safety regulations permit. They are responsible for looking after the children on the day. Make sure you discuss your plans well in advance with your supervisor.
Accessibility
We are committed to providing barrier-free access to the events at ETH Zurich. Unless otherwise stated, we strive to make the programmes accessible to all. If your child needs support due to a disability or chronic illness, please tick the appropriate box in the registration form and we will get back to you or contact us at
Is the universe shaped like a giant doughnut? How does a mathematician determine the shape of our universe? To get a better understanding, we venture with you into the world of the lowlanders, who want to know what their world looks like. We create our own lowlander universes and eventually come back to the key question: What form does the universe take?
Do you want to find out? We’ll help you find the answer!
Provider: Department of Mathematics, mathematics and training
Check-In und Pick-up: Zentrum campus
Want to build a flashlight yourself? Watch exciting experiments and conduct one of your own? You can do so at this event. We show you how to construct a flashlight in four simple steps. While doing so, you experience four different varieties of vocational training.
First you sketch the design, then in the workshop you get the chance to drill and also solder. Finally, you assemble all the parts of your flashlight. Having worked through different physics experiments as well, now comes the crunch: will your flashlight actually work? Yes, of course it does!
Provider: Department of Physics, training laboratory
Check-In and Pick-up: H?nggerberg campus
How do I make a computer do what I want it to? You can try it out at this event, where you can programme a computer small enough to fit into your trouser pocket. It’s called micro:bit and is so easy to use that it’s instant fun.
Then you develop and test a programme to expertly park a toy car. Alternatively, programme your own code for the game “Rock, scissors, paper” and depict the three symbols with LED lights. Come and be surprised!
Provider: Department of Mechanical and Process Engineering, external pagemint & pepper
Check-In and Pick-up: Zentrum campus
Would you like to immerse yourself in the exciting world of biology? Then come to our biology teaching lab! Here you can slip into the role of a biology lab technician and carry out fantastic experiments: Make your own DNA necklace, feed and observe microscopic creatures and learn how to grow fungi and bacteria.
You can even find out whether fungi can fart in a great show experiment. Join us and discover the fascinating world of biology!
Provider: Department of Biology, Teaching Lab
Check-In and Pick-Up: H?nggerberg campus
We are all about inventions and what we can learn from nature to help people in everyday life. You will be given various materials and objects, both simple and modern, to try out. A video shows how a CYBATHLON team works and how many different topics and people are involved in the creative process.
You then use modern sensors yourself to control a device. For example, grippers can be operated with the help of a mini-computer. Finally, you will meet a person with a disability who is dependent on assistive devices and you can ask them questions.
Provider: Cybathlon
Check-In and Pick-Up: Zentrum campus
Have you long dreamt of building your own robot and telling it what to do? With LEGO? MINDSTORMS? construction sets, that’s a simple task.
Once you’ve built your robot, you can programme it. Together we discover which commands you can give it. Do you want it to throw a ball? Lift something up? Or move in a certain direction? You’ll be amazed to see the many things your robot can do!
Provider: external pageGirlsCodeToo
Check-In and Pick-Up: Zentrum campus
The programming language Python lets you write your own mini programmes very quickly. We show you how to do it. Then we dive into the fascinating world of pixels. These tiny coloured dots are the building blocks of every screen image.
Learn how to control, edit and change individual pixels, so you can turn a standard image into your own personal work of art!
Provider: external pageGirlsCodeToo
Check-In and Pick-Up: Zentrum campus
A bank robber has disappeared without a trace. But wait – there are a few black marks left behind from a felt-tip pen. That’s a stroke of luck for young detectives, as a black felt-tip pen comprises many different colours, and this knowledge can help us track down the robber. Hard to believe? Then visit our laboratory to discover which colours actually make up black. You will also learn what this has to do with chocolate, wine gums, salad and M&M’s. Are you curious to know more? Then we’re looking forward to seeing you!
Provider: Department of Health Science and Technology, Laboratory for Food Biochemistry
Check-In and Pick-Up: Zentrum campus
Welcome to an exciting day all about the health of tomorrow! Today you'll find out what doctors need to be able to do and how they train. In the skills lab, you'll see how medical students work with ultrasound, almost like a superhero X-ray! When pipetting, you measure tiny amounts of liquid very precisely. You will also learn how to determine blood pressure and maybe even get to try it out yourself! Finally, you will test the hand force measurement, where you can see how hard you can grip.
Experience how doctors are made fit for their important job and perhaps discover your own enthusiasm for medicine! Finally, you will visit various research laboratories: you will learn how working in a laboratory can make an important difference for future patients.
Provider: Department of Health Science and Technology, Medical Studies
Check-In and Pick-Up: Zentrum campus
Welcome to the robot experience day! First there will be a round of introductions to our players, the robots. You will learn how robots perceive their environment, how they move around and how they decide whether to pass the ball or take a shot on goal. After you have got to know the robots, you can get active and programme the robots yourself.
The highlight will be the robots' football match. We play 3 against 3! Ask anything you're interested in during the breaks. Ready for exciting robot adventures?
Provider: external pageNCCR Automation
Check-In and Pick-Up: Zentrum campus
So you love playing video games and would like to have a go at programming one yourself? You’ve come to the right place. We show you how to build your own small 2D programme. You are free to decide whether it should be an adventure or animal game, for example. Next you choose a character and decide whether it’s good or evil. You can take home your new game on a memory stick and carry on playing it, and show it to friends and family.
If you like, tell your teachers you are attending an “Introduction to object-oriented programming using Greenfoot”.
Provider: IT Services department
Check-In and Pick-Up: H?nggerberg campus
A microscope lets you see minute objects otherwise invisible to the naked eye. At this event you will be able to build your own microscope or “foldscope”. Then we take a look at things on a microscopic scale, such as the wings and legs of flies, prehistoric crabs and onion skins. You will see them 160 times bigger than in real life.
We take photos of the objects with a smartphone. You also have the chance to look through even more powerful microscopes. We know you will be amazed at what you see!
Provider: Department of Biology, Institute for Biochemistry
Check-In and Pick-Up: H?nggerberg campus
Can you imagine robots capable of constructing walls or floors on building sites? Or 3D printers able to print entire houses at the push of a button? No?! Then come and visit the world’s largest robotics fabrication lab, where humans and robots work alongside each other on a daily basis. First the houses are designed by humans on the computer, then built by robots and printed in 3D.
You’ll be present to witness the robots come to life, and you can watch them as they build. And you can perform small tasks yourself with robots. Come with us on a journey into the futuristic world of construction!
Provider: external pageDepartment of Architecture, NCCR Digital Fabrication
Check-In and Pick-Up: H?nggerberg 必博官网,必博体育
Libraries are not just places full of books, but also treasure troves of knowledge and learning? Our library is a place where students come together to learn, exchange ideas and relax. Imagine you could not only read exciting stories there, but also watch films, browse through magazines and even borrow tools. That's exciting, isn't it?
Did you also know that librarians are real superheroes? Not only do they help you find the best books, they are also experts in the digital world. A versatile apprenticeship, right?
Let's create our own dream library together! With wood, cardboard, modelling clay and everything that belongs in a perfect library. We look forward to your ideas!
Provider: ETH Library, vocational training
Check-In and Pick-Up: H?nggerberg campus
Do you like animals and are you interested in research? Then you've come to the right place! We'll take you into our research laboratories and show you how laboratory mice live. You'll learn important facts about the husbandry and needs of mice, get to put on overalls and enter a research laboratory and gain an exciting insight into the work of an animal keeper. We look forward to seeing you!
Provider: ETH Phenomics Center, vocational training
Check-In and Pick-Up: H?nggerberg campus
Have you ever asked yourself what’s actually happening with the weather, environment and climate change? Do you want to know about CO2 and its effects? And why people need to do something urgently – and exactly what? We want to give you some answers to these important questions.
We have set up two exciting experiments to explain how clouds are formed and why CO2 is causing global warming. You will learn how a climate model works and where we make our weather forecasts and climate calculations. And you can take a look at the massive computers that crunch the data for our predictions. We are looking forward to inquisitive minds ready to ask a lot of questions!
Provider: Center for Climate Systems Modeling
Check-In and Pick-Up: Zentrum campus
We invite young scientists to gain an exciting insight into the world of microbes! Together we will use special food called agar plates to isolate different microbes from different environments. This includes samples from washed and unwashed palms, plant leaves, water, soil, air and mobile phone surfaces.
You will be allowed to choose a spot on an agar plate from which we will then identify the tiny organisms using modern molecular biology methods. You can then use your own computer programme to create a digital image of our experiment. You can print out this image and take it home with you to share your discoveries with others!
Provider: Department of Biology, Institute for Microbiology
Check-In and Pick-Up: H?nggerberg campus
Water is an incredibly powerful force. It displaces river banks, cuts deep valleys in mountains and can generate electricity. What’s more, water is essential for life. To find out more about the capabilities of water, scientists are building giant models that allow us to observe exactly what happens, and when.
We describe the questions we are tackling and how we search for answers. And we demonstrate our models in action! Later, you will be allowed to conduct your own experiment using the hydraulics model. Discover the immense power of water!
Check-In and Pick-Up: H?nggerberg campus
It’s a bit like a knights’ duel: if we get a cold or flu, it’s because viruses or bacteria have attacked our immune system, which fights against them. Fortunately the body has several ways of defending itself against these invaders.
Do you want to find out more about the body’s white knights? We look at what they do. You will also learn the difference between healthy and sick mice, and those that have fully recovered from a disease. And you can conduct your own experiment to measure the defensive power of different “groups of white knights”. Are you with us?
Provider: Department of Biology, Institute of Microbiology
Check-In and Pick-Up: H?nggerberg campus
Can you imagine a world with no bridges? Zurich without a bridge over the Limmat? Since time immemorial, humans have been building bridges to span deep gorges, rivers or even oceans. Although there have been many modifications, the same basic principles still apply to bridge construction. Astounding, don’t you think?
Visit us to learn about the principles of bridge construction and become a bridge builder yourself. We’ll help you plan your own bridge. We’re looking for the best bridge builders at National Future Day 2024!
Provider: Department of Civil, Environmental and Geomatic Engineering, Institute of Structural Engineering
Check-In and Pick-Up: H?nggerberg campus
Humans, animals and plants are all made from the same building blocks. But what determines whether you’re a person, a banana or a cat? It’s your DNA. DNA is like a giant cookbook: it contains millions of recipes for producing all the different parts of a living being.
Do you want to find out more about DNA? In our “DNA kitchen”, we’ll extract some DNA from various fruits and examine their different cells under the microscope. You can study the smallest building blocks of life in minute detail!
Provider: Department of Biology, Institute of Biochemistry
Check-In and Pick-Up: H?nggerberg campus
Registration is closed. The draw will follow shortly.
Important information
Children must be collected from the event by an adult. If that’s not possible, the child must bring along a custody release form to the event.
School children attend the events organised by ETH Zurich at their own risk. They must follow the instructions of ETH Zurich’s responsible group leaders at all times. Parents are responsible for arranging insurance cover for the event and are liable for their children.
Children should wear suitable clothing for the autumnal weather, as they will be outside for some of the time.