The MPI-P has ventured into new territory with augmented reality. This offers a completely different perspective on research. For example, you can use your own smartphone to walk through a virtual synthesis laboratory and learn how a nanocapsule is produced and how it can combat diseases with its encapsulated drugs, step by step. It's not only fun, it also explains research in a simple way!
Students from Düsseldorf University of Applied Sciences have also developed AR applications for the Polymer Path. Rather than leaving plastic waste on the beach, they propose using seaweed as a source of packaging. It's edible and 100% biodegradable! This student project, along with four others, can be explored in front of the “Schau-Regal” (display shelf).

While stability is of great importance for some polymer materials, for example dentures, long-lasting and stable plastics have disastrous effects on the coasts and in the oceans. On marine life and ultimately also on the people who like to have seafood or fish in their meals. 
What exactly microplastics are and why some plastics take longer to decompose can be explored in more detail at the “Microplastics“ station. The wooden steles give an insight into how long it takes for various plastic products to completely decompose.

A polymer structure you can touch: this is what the structure of a plastic can look like – a jumbled mess. Here you can get an idea of how polymer chains pile up on top of one another much like a big tangle of cooked spaghetti. This disorder is what makes a material such as PE (polyethylene), used to make thin plastic bags, soft, stretchy and see-through. It is also why you pull such as bag out of shape without it tearing.

What is the difference between bio-based and biodegradable materials? What is greenwashing? The compartments of the “Schau-Regal” (display shelf) are filled with all kinds of applications from the fashion, packaging and toy industries. They show that renewable raw materials can replace petroleum-based products, and that residues from the sugarcane industry can become creative toys; toys that are even recyclable. There is plenty to see, and plenty to think about.

With this new technology, the temperature in the beehive can be measured precisely. Three-dimensionally in real time! Because when the sun shines strongly in summer, it is very warm in the front of the hive, while the back part, located in the shade, is a bit cooler. However, the bees prefer it to be the same temperature, namely 34-36°C.
Bees are usually very good at regulating the temperature themselves, but not when exposed to stress factors such as a lack of nutrients or the use of pesticides. The Max Planck Institute for Polymer Research has therefore developed this technology in order o be able not only to measure the temperature accurately, but also to regulate it. This might help bees in the future.
SWR Wissen filmed at our institute:

Research teams are working on ways to send tiny diamonds through the bloodstream to explore the environment around cells. To keep the diamonds from being spotted and cleared away as intruders by the body's own police force, they are wrapped in a kind of camouflage cloak. Undisturbed, they can then measure temperature or pH right where they are and tell us more about the innermost workings of our cells.

The “Zukunftsinstitut“ (Future Institute) has drawn up a kind of network map. All possible future trends are recorded there and show an overview of how many there actually are and how much some trends are interconnected.
Fundamental research is carried out at the Max Planck Institute for Polymer Research, from which new trends can emerge. Sometimes existing trends also provide an occasion to think about new topics and thus stimulate new research questions. At this station you are allowed to join in the discussion and contribute your ideas on the big topics such as mobility or health.

In addition to being certified as a LernOrt Nachhaltigkeit, the trail was also awarded the Dr. Ursula Grübler-Schoch Prize on 28 June 2025.
The Förderverein für MINT-Berufe honours remarkable engagement in MINT education 2025 with this award.

In 2025, the Polymer Path made it into the top 20 in the ‘Lernorte’ category of the “National Award for Education for Sustainable Development”!