1. Hygiene – How clean is clean?

Our journey begins somewhere very familiar: your hands!

They may look clean, but are they really? Discover the microorganisms hiding on everyday surfaces, see what can grow from a simple swab, and learn how something as easy as washing your hands can help stop unwanted microbes from spreading.

Can you wash your hands like a scientist?

Try it: Look at bacteria we found on different surfaces and learn when and how we should wash our hands.

Next stop: If microbes are all around us... what happens when they reach our food?

2. Food Microbiology & Safety – Would you eat it?

Welcome to the microbial world of food!

We rely on microorganisms to produce many of our favourite foods and drinks. However, food can also support the growth of microorganisms that cause spoilage or illness. But how many bacteria can we actually find on our food? And does food become unsafe the moment it passes the expiry date?

Become a food-safety detective and explore bacterial numbers in different foods. Learn what makes food spoil, what food labels can tell us, and how scientists decide when food is safe to eat.

Try it: Compare bacterial counts from different foods and put your food-safety instincts to the test.

Next stop: You've investigated microbes in the world around you. Now it's time to put on your lab coat and become a scientist!

 3. Kids' Lab – Become a scientist!

Science isn't only about reading facts; it's about trying, testing, observing, and asking questions. Step into our Kids' Lab for hands-on activities.

Experiment, explore, and discover what it feels like to work in a laboratory. No previous scientific experience required, curiosity is enough!

Try it: Get hands-on with laboratory activities designed especially for our youngest scientists.

Next stop: Scientists have lots of ways to investigate bacteria. But bacteria aren't the only microbes that can make us sick. What happens when the culprit is a virus?

4. Viruses & Diagnostics – Become a molecular detective

Viruses are tiny – so how can we possibly know when one has infected us?

The answer lies partly in an amazing biological matching game. Antibodies recognize specific targets, called antigens, a little like pieces that only fit their correct partner.

Become a molecular detective and match antibodies to their mystery viruses. Then discover how the same principle can be used in rapid diagnostic tests like the ones we used during Covid.

But can we prepare our bodies before we meet a virus? Explore how vaccines train our immune system and how vaccination has helped prevent disease around the world.

Try it: Match antibodies and viruses, solve our molecular mystery, and discover the science behind rapid tests and vaccines.

Final stop: We've seen how we can prevent and detect infections. But what happens when the medicines we use against bacterial infections stop working?

5. Antimicrobial Resistance – When bacteria fight back

Antibiotics are powerful medicines used to treat bacterial infections – but bacteria are very good at surviving. When bacteria develop ways to survive antibiotics, we call them antimicrobial resistant, or AMR. And here's an important clue: it is the bacteria that become resistant, not us!

At our final stand, discover how bacteria can fight back against antibiotics, why antimicrobial resistance is one of today's major health challenges, and how human, animal, and environmental health are all connected.

Then put your knowledge to the test with our AMR test.

Try it: Take the antibiotic quiz

Your microbial mission is complete!

Collect your PhD certificate in the Kids’Creative Room!

Kids' Creative Room & Scientific Certificate

Need a little creative break during your microbial mission? Visit our special kids' room, where young scientists can draw, paint, and decorate their own eatable “microbial plates”.

From the microbes on your hands and in your food, to laboratory experiments, viruses, vaccines, and antibiotic resistance, you've traveled through a world that is normally completely invisible.

The big lesson?

Microbes may be tiny, but they have an enormous impact on our lives – and science gives us the tools to understand, prevent, and control them.

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