How do food delivery services work? How did Heinrich von Kleist write? What can an old oak tree tell us? And what makes the fire department so important? The 20th Viadrina Children's University will address these questions.
From March 4, children and young people between the ages of 8 and 13 can take part in four lectures in the lecture hall of the European University Viadrina Frankfurt (Oder). They will take place on Wednesdays from 4.00 to 5.00 p.m. in Lecture Hall 3 of the Gräfin-Dönhoff Building, Europaplatz 1.
Participation in the Children's University is free of charge; registration is mandatory. Accompanying persons can follow the lectures via live broadcast in the lecture hall next door. After the lecture, junior students have the opportunity to eat in the canteen for one euro.
The Viadrina Children's University is a joint project of Frankfurt citizens and the European University Viadrina. The patron is the President of the European University Viadrina, Prof. Dr. Eduard Mühle. The Children's University is supported by the Lions Club.
The four lectures in detail
To kick things off, on Wednesday, March 4, Viadrina economist Prof. Dr. Charlotte Köhler will give a lecture entitled "Routes, Data & Bananas – How does the supermarket come to your home?". The Vice President for Digitalization will explain how food delivery services deliver pizza, ice cream, yoghurt or bananas to our homes. The junior students learn why fresh food has special requirements for delivery, who puts the goods together and how delivery vans find the best route. They will also learn what algorithms are, what data they need and how they help to plan optimal routes.
On Wednesday, 11 March, Dr. Barbara Gribnitz, research associate at the Kleist Museum Foundation, will talk about the poet Heinrich von Kleist, who was born in Frankfurt (Oder) almost 250 years ago. In the lecture "Writing like Heinrich von Kleist", the children's university students embark on a journey through time: They learn about old letters, write with a goose feather themselves and decipher the handwriting of the famous poet as "letter detectives".
"From the diary of an old oak tree" will be reported on Wednesday, March 18 by Roland Boljahn, founder and long-time director of the forest school at Rogge-Busch in Müllrose. His lecture will focus on interrelationships in the forest ecosystem: what does an old oak tree have to do with the insect food chain? Answers to these questions will be provided in the third lecture of the children's university.
At the end on Wednesday, March 25, the children's university participants will learn why the fire department has always been important and what significance it has today. The project group "Fire Brigade City Eisenhüttenstadt" explains how people used fire a long time ago, what dangers it posed and how long organized fire departments have existed. The tasks, technology and importance of the fire department today will also be discussed.
When and where?
Wednesday, March 4, 2026 | Lecture "Routes, data & bananas – how does the supermarket get to your home?"
Wednesday, March 11, 2026 | Lecture "Writing like Heinrich von Kleist"
Wednesday, March 18, 2026 | Lecture "From the diary of an old oak tree"
Wednesday, March 25, 2026 | Importance of the fire brigade
Every Wednesday from 4.00 to 5.00 p.m.
Hörsaal 3 of the Gräfin-Dönhoff building
Europaplatz 1, 15230 Frankfurt (Oder)
Further information and registration
Participation in the Children's University is free of charge; registration is required.
For more information and to register, visit www.europa-uni.de/kinderuni