Long Night of Sciences Berlin & Potsdam

A Tradition Since 2001

The Long Night of Sciences started in 2001 as a joint initiative of Berlin's universities and research institutions. The concept was new at the time: making science publicly accessible, not for specialists, but for everyone. Since then, the format has spread across Germany — but Berlin remains the largest and most visible example. Since 2025, the night carries the subtitle "Smartest Night of the Year".

What Happens on June 6, 2026

On June 6, 2026, over 60 research institutions will once again open their doors — from the Charité to the Berlin Observatory, from the Max Planck Institute for Molecular Genetics to the Federal Institute for Materials Research, from the Technical University to the Potsdam-Golm science campus. A total of over 1,500 individual events are announced — experiments, lectures, guided tours, live demonstrations, hands-on activities.

What You Can Experience

The offerings are vast: Look into living cells with a laser microscope. Play through the energy transition in the climate simulator. Assemble a small fuel cell. Embark on a black hole tour with an astrophysicist. Press tablets yourself in the pharmacy lab. Observe nocturnal insects in the Botanical Garden. Over 800 program items alone are specially designed for children and teenagers — from crawling age to high school seniors.

Logistics of the Night

A single ticket (€7.50 regular) is valid for seven hours everywhere — all locations, all BVG connections included. Special shuttle bus lines connect the clusters: Adlershof, Berlin-Mitte, Buch, Charlottenburg, Dahlem, Potsdam-Golm. Those who arrive early can manage two or three locations — those who switch across the city every four hours will see less, but more broadly.

Berlin as a City of Science

Berlin is Germany's largest science region: almost 40 universities and research institutions, over 200,000 students, international research campuses in Adlershof and Buch. The Long Night makes this infrastructure visible and accessible — and is aimed at precisely the audience that rarely stands in a laboratory. Politically, the 2026 festival positions itself as an answer to scientific skepticism: science as an answer to fake news, conspiracy theories, and fatal errors.