The Lab Talks

The laboratory is the beating heart of ARTIS-Micropia. Here, the lab technicians take care of all the microbes you discover in the museum. From bacteria and fungi to algae and tardigrades. Normally, they look at the smallest forms of life, but what does that smallest life have to do with one of the largest land animals in the world: the hippopotamus?

Hippos have an enormous impact on their environment, but did you know that the microbes in their poop also play an essential role in this?
One of these is our microbe of the month: Escherichia coli, the microbe that comes out with your poop every day. 

Hippos change entire ecosystems, often without you noticing it immediately. They spread nutrients in pools and rivers and even influence the gut microbiome of other animals.

Come and be amazed by these impressive animals, which have been shaping their environment for centuries in collaboration with microbes, with their large bodies and behavior.