Electron Microscopy Days in Brno, featuring inflatable models of microscopic organisms, captured the attention of both residents and visitors and once again confirmed Brno’s exceptional position as a global center for the development and production of electron microscopes. The week-long festival, held this year from March 23 to 29, attracted both experts and the general public, opening a window into the fascinating micro- and nanoworld normally invisible to the human eye.
This year marks the 75th anniversary of the construction of the first commercially available Czechoslovak electron microscope, the Tesla BS 241, developed in 1951 by a team led by Professor Aleš Bláha at the Brno University of Technology. Today, up to one-third of the world’s electron microscopes are produced in the South Moravian capital, and they are used even by scientists at NASA.
The festival’s mascot was the bacterium Escherichia coli (E. coli), a perfect example of a biological “friend and foe at the same time.” While often associated with food poisoning, it is also a cornerstone of modern genetics and a permanent resident of the human gut. The human body can contain up to an astonishing 2 grams of it—about the weight of half a sugar cube. It was also one of the first biological objects observed using an electron microscope. E. coli was represented by a striking six-meter inflatable model, which appeared during a promotional tour at Freedom Square, on March 23 during the opening day at Moravian Square park, and until Sunday, March 29 at the Vaňkovka Gallery, where it dominated an exhibition of photographs taken with electron microscopes, accompanied by medallions of the event’s partners.
A rich program across the city
Electron Microscopy Days (DEM) were first organized by the Brno City Municipality in 2017, and since 2023 the main program guarantor has been the Brno Observatory and Planetarium. Today, around twenty companies, scientific, and academic institutions participate in this popular educational event. DEM is supported by the City of Brno and the South Moravian Region, with additional partners including TIC Brno and Vaňkovka Gallery.
On March 23, favorable weather allowed visitors to enjoy inflatable models from the last four editions of the festival in the park at Moravian Square. These included the traditional nanostructure, the brand-new E. coli, the popular tardigrade, a mite “monster,” and a friendly bacteriophage.
The Electron Microscopy Days program took place across Brno and involved more than twenty institutions, research centers, schools, museums, and technology companies. It offered lectures, workshops, tours of usually inaccessible laboratories, exhibitions, practical demonstrations, and hands-on activities for various age groups—from schools and students to families with children and the professional public.
At Moravian Square park, the nanostructure installation was complemented by an exhibition dedicated to scientist Armin Delong, one of the pioneers of electron microscopy in Brno.
Where could visitors experience activities related to observing living and non-living nature through electron microscopes? Open programs played a key role at institutions such as the Institute of Scientific Instruments of the Czech Academy of Sciences, CEITEC Masaryk University, CEITEC Brno University of Technology, VIDA! Science Center, the Technical Museum in Brno, and the Brno Observatory and Planetarium, as well as at the electron microscope manufacturers themselves. Visitors were able to explore the latest instruments, technologies, and real-world applications of electron microscopy in materials science, biology, medicine, and the semiconductor industry.
Brno-based manufacturers of electron microscopes—Thermo Fisher Scientific, TESCAN, and Delong Instruments—also participated through guided tours for children, students, and adults. They prepared programs for younger audiences and presentations for adults at the Technical Museum, explaining the use of microscopes across various fields.
Other participants included the Bishop’s Grammar School Brno, Matyáš Lerch Grammar School, the Institute of Botany, the Institute of Archaeology of the Czech Academy of Sciences, Masaryk University, Brno University of Technology, and the Veterinary Research Institute.
You can revisit Electron Microscopy Days, including the program and the giant micro-world, on the website dembrno.cz.
Education, inspiration, and the future of the field
This year’s edition placed special emphasis on education and the popularization of science. School programs and public lectures presented electron microscopy as an accessible, inspiring, and practically applicable field with crucial importance for the future technological development of society.
Electron Microscopy Days in Brno thus showcased not only the current state of this cutting-edge field, but also its future potential and importance for research, industry, and education—once again demonstrating why Brno is rightly referred to as the capital of electron microscopy.
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