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Explore the Berlin-Dahlem Campus

Milestones of the history of science and the beginnings of the Max Planck Society in the "German Oxford"

Immerse yourself in the fascinating world of science and go on a journey in time through “Germany’s Oxford”, now the Dahlem Campus in Berlin. This is where the history of the Max Planck Society began about 100 years ago, with the first research institutes of its predecessor organisation, the Kaiser Wilhelm Society. Our walking tours are suitable as a cultural programme within the framework of conferences. Those who prefer to explore Dahlem on their own can find their way to the most important places with the DahlemTour app.

Free thinking – Free science │ The overview tour focuses in particular on the post-war period, when the new Freie Universität moved into the former institutes of the Kaiser Wilhelm Society. These Institutes have been relocated during the final years of the war to West Germany, where they were rebuilt as Max Planck Institutes from 1948 onward. To celebrate the 75th anniversary of the Max Planck Society and the Freie Universität in 2023, the tour takes us into the turbulent years after 1945. Happy birthday!

100 years of science in the "German Oxford" │The classic introductory tour highlights the milestones of the history of Dahlem and follows in the footsteps of the 14 Nobel Prize winners who lived and worked in Dahlem from 1911 onwards - including Otto Hahn and Albert Einstein. On request, we are happy to focus on the history of biology, physics and chemistry.

Don‘t Be Led up the Garden Path! Fiction and Facts of the Dahlem Campus │Interactive introductory tour. Many legends that have sprung up about events, places and the geniuses of the science campus should be treated with caution. In times of fake news, it is worth checking the facts several times. Follow in the footsteps of the Dahlem scientists and consider for yourself whether the anecdotes are true or false.

Muses or makers? Women of the Dahlem Science Campus │ Physicist Lise Meitner is Dahlem's most prominent researcher, but there are lesser well-known women who also left a lasting mark on the campus. The tour portrays their lives and illustrates the short time it took for women to conquer the world of science, which had been dominated by men for centuries.

Einstein in Dahlem │Albert Einstein's work in Berlin made scientific history. The father of the theory of relativity also spent a lot of time in Dahlem. Follow Einstein's footsteps across the campus.

In the pantheon of science | In the footsteps of Nobel Prize winners

All walking tours can be booked as group tours (25 people max) in German, English, Italian.

Cost: 150 euros (German), 170 euros (English, Italian). 20 percent discount for cooperating institutions.

Offers for schools (bookable from 01.04.2022)

As an extracurricular place of learning, Campus Dahlem offers many topics that can be linked to the subject lessons in physics, chemistry and history. Depending on the arrangement, the focus is on people or scientific discoveries. Additional modules for half-day workshops can also be booked.

100 years of science in the "German Oxford"│Campus tour │Duration: 90 minutes  Cost: 100 € │Suitable for secondary school from grade 8 Physics & History, as well as inter-class groups.

On your tour, you will experience the special atmosphere that characterises Dahlem and its campus to this day. You will travel through time and space, meet the past in the present, and gain a lively impression of outstanding achievements of modern science.

The discovery of nuclear fission │ Campus tour with preparatory workshop in the exhibition in the Harnack House │ Duration: 2.5 hours, incl. break │ Cost: 150 € │ Suitable for upper secondary school physics & history, as well as inter-class groups. The discovery of nuclear fission in 1938 by the research team Otto Hahn, Lise Meitner and Fritz Straßmann was revolutionary in several respects. As a milestone in the history of modern physics and radioactivity research, and as a turning point for humanity’s approach to technology. That the discovery raised enormous ethical and political questions became clear at the latest after the first atomic bomb was dropped on Hiroshima. With a view to the lives of Lise Meitner and Otto Hahn, social-historical questions about equal opportunities for men and women in the scientific community of the past and present can also be addressed and criteria for evaluation developed.

Meet a scientist │Free additional module can only be booked in conjunction with a campus tour │ Duration: 60 minutes │ English or German │ Suitable for secondary schools.  Doctoral students introduce themselves and their work and answer questions about science as a profession. How do researchers work in Dahlem today? What is everyday life like at university and in a research institute? How much work is involved in studying and what comes afterwards? Depending on the topic of interest, we try to invite young scientists from the relevant disciplines

Open Sunday tours for individual visitors


During the summer months, we also offer the DahlemTour on the first and third Sundays of the month for anyone interested in taking part in a guided tour individually. We regularly update the dates on our website.

Dates: April/May - October, every first and third Sunday of the month, 11 a.m.

Prices: 8 € per person, 5 € reduced (pupils, students, unemployed)

Only with confirmed registration at:

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