Mission Biodiversity: App-Guided Expedition in the Tiergarten

You can make a real difference just with your smartphone. Join thelargest citizen science initiative in Nuremberg, Fürth and Erlangen. The City Nature Challenge is an invitation to become more aware of nature’s diversity. With the iNaturalist app, you can playfully discover, identify, and share plants, animals, and fungi with others. Your findings count! For four days, the Tiergarten and the Bionicum will become a research field.

A woodpecker tapping in the treetops? A squirrel darting from branch to branch? A beetle shimmering in the leaves at your feet? Quick, pull out your camera, take a picture, and upload it to the cloud. Important: Please only upload photos of native animals that you find outside the animal enclosures.

What began as a small idea between two cities (Los Angeles & San Francisco) is now a global movement: Together, people are collecting data on biodiversity. Thanks to swarm intelligence, many small discoveries come together to form a big picture of nature.

For anyone who doesn’t want to explore alone, we’re offering a group nature walk (German speaking) using the app.

When? April 26, 2026, 3:30–5:00 p.m.

Where? Meet at the Bionicum; we’ll head out together on a zoo expedition

Who? Max. 20 participants, registration: info@bionicum.de / 0911 650 845 00

Cost? Free for all zoo visitors

Important: Please download the app before: https://www.inaturalist.org/

Tutorial zur App iNaturalist

The Erlangen Botanical Garden is organizing the City Nature Challenge with lots of participants. Check it out here:

Saturday July 19, it will get magical at the Festival of Experiments with Dein MINT Erlangen at E-Werk Erlangen! Our popular “Glow in the dark” workshop will amaze you:

• Why do mushrooms, fish or fireflies glow?
• What tricks does nature use to sparkle in the dark?
• And how can we imitate them?

In just 30 minutes, you will be immersed in the mysterious world of natural glow: with aha moments, experiments and lots of wow! Parents are cordially invited to join in!

When: July 19, at 15:00 and 16:30

Where? Kellerbühne, E-Werk Cultural Center, Erlangen

How much does it cost? Free of charge

Registration? No need for registration

More information about the Festival of Experiments

Come along and be part of a bright summer afternoon!

Decorating Easter eggs at the Bionicum

On April 5, from 11 a.m. to 3 p.m., visitors have the opportunity to decorate Easter eggs at the Bionicum.

GLOW IN THE DARK or why living things glow

Bioluminescence, the. From Greek βιός biós ‘life’ and Latin lumen ‘light’ = the ability of living things to emit visible light.

In the animal kingdom there are countless representatives that are able to glow in the dark by themselves. There are pulsating fungi, shimmering fish, glowing fireflies, iridescent insects, meandering medusae, shimmering snails, wafting soft corals, glowing flagellates, iridescent cockroaches, blinking hatchetfish – there may even be hitherto undiscovered sparkling bat fleas, iridescent turtles and flaming flubber worms.

On this day, the Bionicum will address the questions of how and why bioluminescence has evolved in so many different life forms and what animals & co. glow for in the first place. The exhibition will be open from 6:00 p.m. to 10:00 p.m., with 30-minute talks at 7:15 p.m., 8:15 p.m., and 9:15 p.m.