2023-05-05 07:40:07
80 million bacteria change hands when you kiss
In Amsterdam, the world’s first microbe museum shows the oldest living things on earth on monitors and with microscopes. You learn that billions of them populate every human being – and after the visit you feel the need to buy a new toothbrush immediately.
At the Micropia Museum in Amsterdam, visitors get to know creatures that normally remain invisible
Those: Diana Stanescu
Nnever before has the hidden world of microbes received such an appreciation! A large, spectacularly designed modern museum full of ideas and exciting details, dedicated solely to microbes: this is Micropia, the world’s first microbe museum.
The original staging begins as soon as you enter. You don’t just walk in there. No, I will be met at the entrance by an employee in a white lab coat. I float to the upper floor in a dark elevator.
The doors slide open – and I find myself in a black cube, lit only by the light from the exhibits, from the floor cut-out to the ground floor and by a huge colorful video screen on which microbes slowly move up and down. Spherical sounds fill the black box with an almost sacred atmosphere. Welcome to the oldest creatures on earth!
The exhibition also features Petri dishes in which microbes grow
Source: MAARTEN VAN DER WAL/Micropia/AFP
It crawls and flees on monitors, in glass bottles and under microscopes. And the visitors of the micro-benzoos can make contact with the microorganisms – at least indirectly.
I stand on a body scanner, raise my arms, and the monitor spits out an amazing number: 170 trillion microbes are found on my body, or on a body my size! A tingle covers me from head to toe.
A scanner tells visitors how many microbes they are carrying around with them
Source: MAARTEN VAN DER WAL/Micropia/AFP
The monitor on which I can select individual areas of my body knows even more about me: ten million bacteria get into my stomach through my mouth every day. And 50 to 100 species of bacteria live in my nose. After all, only five species have made themselves comfortable in the eyes. The display also tells me that the female vagina has more bacteria than the male penis.
The itching increases during the tour of the museum
I quickly exit the scanner and test the Kiss-O-Meter with my husband. The red heart on the floor, which we have to step onto, is a bit reminiscent of a dating show. We kiss and a number promptly appears on the screen: 80 million bacteria have just changed hands. How unromantic!
Next door is under glass – a dead giraffe! A striking sight. She lies on her side, legs bent, neck puckered. “She died of natural causes,” assures an employee in a white coat. At the zoo next door. The baby giraffe demonstrates how microorganisms decompose a carcass.
The Lab Talk is more harmless. The laboratory, in which scientists deal with around 300 types of microbes, offers a small lecture every day. Today, an employee brings the soil bacterium Streptomyces from the laboratory. It causes the smell of wet earth after rain. We are allowed to sniff it in a container. That’s right, smells like damp forest floor.
In the museum display cases, I get to know other charming little animals with whom I, unknowingly, share my life: After three months, seven million bacteria inhabit the bristles of a toothbrush. A picture illustrates the invasion. I’m getting a new toothbrush today.
Shortly before the exit – the itching has increased – a power cleaner is offered for 20.50 euros per bottle. I’m almost tempted to buy it.
Opened in 2014, the Artis Micropia microbial museum is located at Plantage Kerklaan 38-40 in Amsterdam, open daily from 10 a.m. to 5 p.m. Admission: 17.50 euros for visitors aged 13 and over, children up to 12 years of age do not pay anything. Visitors who do not just want to deal with the matter superficially should plan at least three hours (micropia.nl).
The article is an excerpt from the recently published book “Amsterdam – Abenteuer” by travel book author Diana Stănescu, Michael Müller Verlag/mm-wandern.de. The book describes 33 experiences in and around Amsterdam that are extraordinary and take place off the usual tourist routes.
Source: Michael Müller Verlag
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