Second Round of the German Earth Science Olympiad Held in Cologne

On January 29, 2026, the Geoverbund ABC/J, together with the Institute of Geology and Mineralogy at the University of Cologne, hosted the second round of the German Earth Science Olympiad. The nationwide competition is organized by the German Umbrella Organization of Geosciences (DVGeo) and serves as the national selection round for the International Earth Science Olympiad (IESO).

Participants included Junzhe Yao and Michael Hahn from CJD Christophorusschule Königswinter, who successfully advanced to the international final round of the IESO in China last year, as well as Gero Hanrath from the Private Johannes Gymnasium Lahnstein (Rhineland-Palatinate).

The 90-minute written exam, featuring questions from the fields of geology, mineralogy, geophysics, and paleontology, once again took place in the Geography Library of the University of Cologne. We would like to sincerely thank the library team for providing excellent facilities and their kind support — once again an ideal venue for the event.

Following the exam and a joint lunch, the participants visited the Geological and Mineralogical Museum of the University of Cologne. There, Dr. Yannick Bussweiler offered fascinating insights into the museum archives. This was followed by an engaging tour along the timeline of Earth’s history, during which Lynn Bürger explained selected rocks and fossils in their evolutionary context.

We would like to thank all colleagues involved for their dedicated support and excellent cooperation, and we wish the participants every success in the upcoming stages of the competition.