Jena Celebrated an Exciting Week of Science

Tens of thousands of visitors attended the Highlights of Physics (Highlights der Physik) and the MINT Festival in Jena, Germany.

From September 15 to 20, Jena, Germany, was all about science at the Ernst-Abbe-Platz campus and the Goethe-Galerie. The Highlights of Physics (Highlights der Physik) and the MINT Festival Jena fascinated visitors with a varied program of activities, wonders, and learning. Visitors gained insights into current research in an entertaining and understandable way.

Since 2015, this year marked the second time the Highlights of Physics festival was held in Jena, a premiere in the 25-year history of this science festival. And there was another innovation: the Highlights of Physics took place at the same time as the Jena MINT Festival. It had originated from the first edition of the physics festival in Jena and took place this year for the fourth time.

A diverse programme ranging from climate change to quantum physics

At around 60 exhibition stands and displays, visitors of both festivals were able to engage with researchers on a wide range of topics—from floating cakes to how telescopes work and the function of an MRI scanner. One focus of this year’s Highlights of Physics was on current issues relating to climate change and quantum physics.

Astrophysicist and TV presenter Harald Lesch kicked off the diverse lecture program together with the music ensemble “Quadro Nuevo,” which took the audience on a poetic journey through space with its program Sun, Moon, and Stars (Sonne, Mond und Sterne). The finale was also a crowd-puller: in the large physics lecture hall at the University of Jena on Max-Wien-Platz, physicist and science communicator Metin Tolan and the Academic Orchestra Association of the University of Jena, conducted by Sebastian Krahnert, combined science and music with their program Star Trek –Galactic Music with a Bit of Physics (Star Trek–Galactose Musik mit etwas Physik).

Jena’s example should set a standard

The president of the German Physical Society (Deutsche Physikalische Gesellschaft, DPG), Prof. Dr. Klaus Richter, was impressed by the double festival in Jena. “The partnership between Highlights of Physics and a regular local event such as the MINT Festival should set a standard for achieving lasting effects,” said the DPG president, while welcoming the remarkable interest shown by state and local politicians in the Highlights of Physics in Jena and Thuringia.

The 2025 Highlights of Physics event was organized by the German Physical Society in collaboration with Friedrich Schiller University Jena. The organizers would like to thank their premium partner, the Carl-Zeiss-Stiftung (Carl Zeiss Foundation), and all other supporters: the Wilhelm and Else Heraeus Foundation, the Helmut Fischer Foundation, and Hitachi.

The MINT Festival Jena was supported by the main sponsors ZEISS and dotSource SE, as well as by the Impulsregion Erfurt, Jena, Weimar, and Weimarer Land, together with Jena Wirtschaft and the City of Jena as the main sponsor, and JENOPTIK AG as the gold sponsor.