Scent experience
- Date
- Saturday 13 July 2024 - Sunday 1 December 2024
- Explanation
- The Scent Exhibition is open from Wednesday to Sunday, from 11:00 AM to 4:00 PM, and is free with a visit to the Hortus.
- Address
- Hortus Batanicus
Rapenburg 73
2311 GJ Leiden - Room
- Visitor center of the Old Observatory
- Discover the role of scent in nature
Why do flowers often smell so wonderful? And some other plants are very horrible? Come smell it, see it and discover it in the visitor center in the Old Observatory. Suitable for young and old.
The role of scent in nature is central to the Fragrance Experience. Using some of our crown jewels, such as the Amorphophallus or penis plant, European orchids and Mediterranean herbs, you will learn what the different functions of scent are. For example, certain plants that smell attractive to humans actually deter insects. After a visit to the Fragrance Experience, you will walk through the gardens and greenhouses with a new look (and nose!). The Fragrance Experience is part of our fragrance year.
Fragrance workshop
At the Scent Experience you can follow a Scent Workshop in the Scent Workshop. Pre-registration is required. More information and registration.
How does space smell?
Not only on Earth but also in space, there are many interesting scents, though we can't smell them directly with our noses. In the space between the stars, chemical reactions occur that create molecules, some of which can become the building blocks of life. Astronomers use radio telescopes to identify these molecules and compare their observations with laboratory measurements. In one of the rooms at the Old Observatory visitor center, you can now smell scents found in the universe. Can you guess which scent belongs to which astronomical object?
Old Observatory
The Scent Experience is an initiative of the Hortus and Leiden Observatory, the astronomy institute of the Faculty of Science of Leiden University, which together create programs for the visitor center.