From July 25^th till August 10^th, Dr. Fabian Zech and Dr. Annika Röcker got the opportunity to spread science among the citizens of Ulm. They applied for a room in the “Kehlturm” of the “Wilhelmsburg”, part of the old fortress complex of the city of Ulm. It has not been used since the 1950ies, when refugees from the Second World War found shelter here. This summer, the tower was “revitalized” by artists, business and creative people. The so-called “Open Tower” project was part of the festival “Stürmt die Burg”, that takes place annually.

“Ulm is a science city. Thus, science has to be present in the tower, too”, Zech and Röcker explain their motivation to apply. They were lucky: From more than 130 application, their project - called “Prot:Space”- was chosen, together with 24 others. “All had great ideas, it was a really inspiring community” Zech reports.

But what was their goal? “We had the impression that most people only think about nutrition when they hear the word protein”, says Röcker. “But for us, it is so much more.” Without proteins, neither human nor any other organism could exist. Far more than being food, proteins fulfill lots of different tasks in our bodies. This knowledge, the team wanted to convey to the visitors. As an experienced science journalist, Röcker is used to explain complex things in a simple way. To make the topic even more understandable and touchable, Zech 3D-printed some of the protein structures that were displayed and explained in the exhibition. “Hemoglobin, insulin or interferon, for example”, he lists.

“We were overwhelmed by the feedback”, the team reports. In sum, around 12,500 people visited the festival. “Every day, more than 200 people came into our room”, Röcker estimates. Many interesting discussions, as well as potential collaborations came up. The “Prot:Space” was open for three weeks, from Thursday to Sunday, mainly in the evenings. On Fridays, scientific guests were invited for podium discussions, e.g. Dr. Konstantin Sparrer, also member of CRC1279. He talked about the central role of proteins and peptides as communicators of the immune system. “No protein, no muscles”, was the title of another session with two sports scientists. “Our Prot:Space was cram-full at these occasions”, Zech and Röcker proudly report.