A team of four players playing with the riddles of the escape room.
© AI-generated image
6 November 2026 | 11:00 - 19:00

Can You Restart the Lab That Could Power Our Future?

Fritz-Haber-Institut der Max-Planck-Gesellschaft (FHI) / Helmholtz-Zentrum Berlin für Materialien und Energie (HZB)

The year is 2050. The future of clean energy depends on a laboratory that has suddenly gone silent. Can you bring it back to life?

Step into the role of an emergency research team and enter a futuristic artificial intelligence-powered laboratory where scientists are developing the next generation of sustainable fuels. 

Your mission? Restart the Self-Driving Laboratory (SDL)—a smart research facility that uses automation and artificial intelligence to design and run experiments that accelerate the discovery of better catalysts.

But the clock is ticking. Without new solutions for producing fuels and chemical building blocks from green hydrogen and CO₂, industries such as steel, cement, and chemicals risk returning to fossil fuels. In 60 minutes, you will solve science-based challenges, explore the role of hydrogen, catalysts, and artificial intelligence in future research, and collect the pieces needed to bring the laboratory back online. Work together, make decisions, and experience how scientists of the future could tackle some of the biggest challenges facing our planet.

This interactive escape room is part of the ASCEND project, which explores new approaches to accelerate scientific discovery through autonomous experimentation and AI-driven research. Designed for curious minds of all backgrounds—no scientific expertise required. Come ready to collaborate, experiment, and discover how the research choices we make today can shape the energy future of tomorrow.

  • Wheelchair accessible. 
  • Registration required (see button).
  • Registrations open until 23 October, subject to availability.
  • Minimum age for participation 8 years old - if younger, please contact the organizer via e-mail.
  • One person should register on behalf of a group by indicating the total number of participants in the registration form (min participants per slot 4, max 8).
  • Please arrive 15 minutes before the start of the activity. 
  • Further instructions upon registration.
Fri, 11/06/2026 - 11:00 Fri, 11/06/2026 - 19:00

Return to Overview

  • Wheelchair accessible. 
  • Registration required (see button).
  • Registrations open until 23 October, subject to availability.
  • Minimum age for participation 8 years old - if younger, please contact the organizer via e-mail.
  • One person should register on behalf of a group by indicating the total number of participants in the registration form (min participants per slot 4, max 8).
  • Please arrive 15 minutes before the start of the activity. 
  • Further instructions upon registration.

Event Location

Helmholtz-Zentrum Berlin für Materialien und Energie (HZB)
Albert-Einstein-Straße 15
12489 Berlin
Germany