Conference Dinner and Social Programme

Desorption 2012

Castle of Rauischholzhausen, Germany

JUNE 03 - 07, 2012

Conference Dinner, Mathematikum and Liebig-Museum, 6 June 2012

The dinner will take place at the prestigious Mathematikum in Giessen, the world´s first mathematical science centre. Offering a huge variety of hands-on exhibits the venue was founded by Albrecht Beutelspacher, a German Mathematician.

The Mathematikum opened its doors to visitors on 19 November 2002 with an Inauguration by the then German President Johannes Rau and is annually visited by more than 150,000 people. Its purpose is to let people of any age, gender, and qualification learn mathematics by personal experience, instead of the common approach of using formulae, equations, numbers, and symbols. The visitors can learn through participating in more than 150 interactive exhibits in the Museum and by gathering a different mathematical experience from each of the exhibits. Experiments include mirrors, a Leonardo bridge, soap films, and puzzles.

During the conference dinner there will be the possibility to take a guided tour through the adjacent Liebig-Museum.

Being the eponym of Giessen university, Justus von Liebig was a German chemist who made major contributions to agricultural and biological chemistry, and worked on the organization of organic chemistry. As a professor, he devised the modern laboratory-oriented teaching method, and for such innovations, he is regarded as one of the greatest chemistry teachers of all time. The museum resides in Liebig´s old laboratory and will give you an excellent impression of what chemistry was like 200 years ago.

Social Programme

There will be the possibility to visit the Castle Gardens and/or the Botanical Gardens of Justus Liebig University Giessen.

The Gardens of Castle of Rauischholzhausen:

The spacious landscaped gardens contain almost 300 different types of trees, two streams and several ponds connected by artificial cascading waterfalls. A guided tour in English is currently being organised.

Botanical Gardens

This trip will take you to the Botanical Gardens of Giessen. You will be taken through the outdoor facilities and the greenhouses by a tour guide who will tell the story of the Botanical Gardens, which dates back to 1609, and show you a number of the 7,500 species of plants the gardens have to offer. The Botanical Gardens of Giessen are the oldest in Germany that are still situated in their original location. When the Botanical Gardens were founded, they lay at the eastern borders of the former ramparts of the city. Over the centuries, the town of Giessen has grown around it and so today the gardens belong to the centre. Before 1609, there were already three botanical gardens in Germany: in Heidelberg, Leipzig and Eichstätt. However, these had to be relocated several times in their history, which makes the Botanical Gardens of Giessen a unique attraction.
Landgrave Ludwig V founded the University of Giessen in 1607 and donated the gardens two years later. In the early years, the gardens were mainly used by the medical faculty, one of the first faculties of the University, for research purposes, as botany was understood mainly as phytomedicine in those times. Today’s purpose of the gardens is to serve in the area of research and the teaching of biology, agricultural science, geography, and human and veterinary medicine. However, it is also a place of cultural interest and a beautiful venue for concerts, exhibitions and the popular Sunday afternoon guided tours.