CDB 2009 Open House

April 30, 2009 – The RIKEN CDB held its annual Open House on April 25, welcoming more than 1,400 visitors from Kobe and the surrounding areas of Japan to learn about the Center’s research and enjoy exhibits and activities for the curious of all ages.

The 2009 Open House featured a morning talk by Group Director Shigeru Kuratani on the evolutionary developmental biology of the turtle shell, a special exhibit on green fluorescent protein to mark last year’s Nobel Prize, and themed exhibits on germ cells and systems biology. A science café was held to allow people to meet and exchange views on questions from the leading edge of science, and a crafts corner, laboratory photo studio, and quiz rally were in place. As in previous years, a number of labs opened their doors, and gave demonstrations of organisms used in developmental biology studies.

In addition to the CDB exhibits, the neighboring RIKEN Center for Molecular Imaging Sciences (CMIS) held it Open House on the same day, with a lecture by Hirotaka Onoe, guided tours of the facilities and activities for kids.