Treasures of Earth's History

Mainz Science Market: 13 and 14 September 2025

On the weekend of September 13 and 14, 2025, the Mainz Science Market will once again invite visitors to discover, try out and marvel at the many stalls and activities on offer – for the first time at the Platz der Mainzer Republik in front of the Rhineland-Palatinate state parliament. After many years on Gutenbergplatz, the popular event format of the Mainz Science Alliance is moving to a new, centrally located venue, where it will offer exciting insights into current research and innovation topics under the motto “People and Learning.”

At the Max Planck Institute for Chemistry booth, for example, visitors can get hands-on with fascinating fossils and discover tiny prehistoric creatures under the microscope.
 

What fossils and stalagmites tell us

Fossils are small archives of past times. You just have to know how to “read” them.

Visitors who look over the shoulders of the scientists at the MPI for Chemistry on Saturday and Sunday will learn how they extract secrets about the climate and life of the past from fossilized teeth, stalagmites, and shells. Fossilized teeth, for example, reveal what our ancestors ate. Stalagmites, on the other hand, reveal what the climate was like in a particular area thousands of years ago. And fossilized corals, shells, and snails hide the water temperature of ancient oceans. With the Earth View app and a memory game, you can also take a wonderful journey through the geological eras and encounter dinosaurs, primitive horses, and saber-toothed tigers.

There is no charge for admission to the Mainz Science Market.

• Saturday, September 13, 2025, 10 a.m. to 6 p.m.
• Sunday, September 14,  2025, 12 a.m. to 6 p.m.