Programmes offered by the Potsdam Institute for Climate Impact Research (PIK)

LECTURE (ID: 1)

Since 1893, the Potsdam Secular Observatory has been measuring rainfall here on the Telegrafenberg – and has recorded record-breaking drought and, consequently, a risk of forest fires in Brandenburg. At the same time, we were also confronted this summer with harrowing images of fires across Europe and around the world. Is this the ‘climate crisis’? What science knows about the link between weather and climate.

Vortragende: Dr. Christopher Reyer, Dr. Thirza van Laar

Location: House A31, Large dome
Time: 1:00 pm - 1:30 pm

LECTURE (ID: 2)

Specially tailored to the young (and young-at-heart) audience, we offer a journey back to the time 66 million years ago. Back then, the dinosaurs became extinct after having dominated life on Earth for around 150 million years. What do we know about this event? And can we also learn something from it for the present?

Speaker: Georg Feulner

Location: House A31, Large Dome
Time: 2:00 pm – 2:30 pm

HANDS-ON ACTIVITY (ID: 3)

Take a seat in the negotiation poker to lower greenhouse gas emissions. Could the Paris Agreement have looked different if you had negotiated for a country? Our computer simulation allows you to calculate your proposals in seconds. Together we evaluate the results. Afterwards we will know whether more cooperation would have been possible.

Location: House A31, Large Dome
Time: 3:00 pm – 3:30 pm

LECTURE (ID: 4)

Why has the climate changed in the history of the Earth? How does the climate crisis caused by humans compare to the past? Can we learn something for the future from a look back? The lecture describes the climate history of the Earth, based on sound science and in an entertaining way, from its beginnings to the modern industrial age.

Speaker: Georg Feulner

Location: House A31, Large Dome
Time: 4:00 pm – 4:30 pm

HANDS-ON ACTIVITY, GAME (ID: 5)

An exciting lecture, already tested with grade 10 classes in schools. What you need to know about tipping points and vicious cycles in the Earth system: from polar ice caps and permafrost to rainforests and ocean currents. Why every avoided tenth of a degree of global warming counts. And the good news: there are also positive tipping points.

Location: House A31, West Wing
Time: 1:30 pm – 2:00 pm

LECTURE (ID: 6)

Here, it's all about the sausage: our expert explains, based on a large research project, what contribution the global agrifood system can make in the fight against global heating. An important element in this: the "Planetary Health Diet". Following the exciting presentation, there is plenty of time for questions and discussion.

Speaker: Benni Bodirsky

Location: House A31, West Wing
Time: 2:30 pm – 3:00 pm

LECTURE (ID: 7)

Cars with internal combustion engines and oil and gas heating are soon to become a no-go, but who is supposed to pay for the switch to fossil-free technologies? Get informed about concepts developed at PIK and widely noted by politicians, which aim to bring climate protection and social justice together under one denominator. With an opportunity for personal conversations following the lecture.

Speakers: Karolina Rüttgen, Dorothea Kistinger

Location: House A31, West Wing
Time: 3:30 pm – 4:00 pm

LECTURE (ID: 8)

The AMOC, the vast Atlantic heat pump that transports enormous masses of water from the Southern to the Northern Hemisphere, is of vital importance to the global climate. It ensures a mild climate in Europe – and it is important that it remains stable in the future. We demonstrate how this works in our ‘ocean current experiment’, which invites you to get involved and discover more.

Location: House A31
Time: continuous, 4–7 sessions (duration: 15 mins) – depending on demand

GAME (ID: 9)

Too expensive, pointless, and others should do more: the arguments put forward by people who want to put the brakes on climate action are varied. Our researchers have carried out a scientific analysis of this in a renowned specialist journal – and used the findings to develop an unusual entertainment experience. Come along and give it a go with us!

Location: House A31
Time: continuous, 4–7 sessions (duration: 15 mins) – depending on demand

HANDS-ON ACTIVITY (ID: 10)

CO₂ pricing is regarded as a key instrument of climate policy: it makes emission-intensive products more expensive and thus steers consumption and investment in a more climate-friendly direction. But who ends up footing the bill – low-income earners or the wealthy? And what are the consequences if the state returns the revenue from CO₂ pricing to the public? A unique tool makes the findings from our research accessible in an interactive way.

Location: House A31
Time: continuous, 4–7 sessions (duration: 15 mins) – depending on demand

DISCUSSION, HANDS-ON ACTIVITY (ID: 11)

What can we expect in Brandenburg over the coming decades, and what is the situation elsewhere? Among other things, the interactive portal shows trends in record-breaking heatwaves and how mitigation measures can slow down this trend. Where will we still be able to go on holiday in future? Where does the rainwater go? These are the questions we ask ourselves when they affect us directly.

Location: House A31
Time: continuous, 4–7 sessions (duration: 15 mins) – depending on demand

GAME (ID: 12)

Start your challenge on our scientifically-backed app, under expert guidance, of course. Over six rounds of the game, you can take various measures – but be careful: nutrition is, as we all know, a politically sensitive issue! Voters reward improvements and penalise crises. How will you fare? You can find out more about the study behind the game at the talk ‘Nutrition – the underestimated area for action’.

Location: House A31
Time: continuous, 4–7 sessions (duration: 15 mins) – depending on demand

GAME (ID: 13)

Of the nine ‘Planetary Boundaries’ that define humanity’s safe operating space, seven have now been exceeded. On our ‘PB Science Spinning Wheel’, you can explore this important analytical concept in a fun way, answer quiz questions and, if you succeed, even pick up a small reward.

Location: House A31
Time: continuous, 4–7 sessions (duration: 15 mins) – depending on demand

EXHIBITION, DISCUSSION (ID: 14)

Due to the increasingly unpredictable climate, the indigenous Maasai communities of East Africa are being forced to adapt their traditional way of life – which is heavily dependent on the ecosystem – to the new circumstances. Visitors to this impressive and thought-provoking exhibition, which utilises the ‘Photovoice’ method, are invited to discover the twelve large-format photographs and the accompanying narratives from the Maasai themselves – and, of course, to speak to our researchers about their experiences in the field.

Location: House A31
Time: continuous, 4–7 sessions (duration: 15 mins) – depending on demand

EXHIBITION, GUIDED TOUR (ID: 15)

With his experiment in the cellar of the house named after him, Albert A. Michelson sought to prove the existence of an aether that served as the medium through which light propagates – a widely held belief in his day. Instead, he invented a precision measuring instrument for which he was later awarded the Nobel Prize. A replica of Michelson’s legendary experiment can be admired at the original site.

Location: House A31
Time: Guided tours every 30 minutes, 2 pm & 2:30 pm – commentary in English