Culture NIght Lund is a festival for the whole Lund Municipality, and Lund University is a part of the programme.
Bring your family or friends and take a part of the events and activities that Lund University have to offer. For everybody and all ages. Some of the activities in English.
Visit the Main University Building
14:00 – 18:00 | The Main University Building will open its doors at the Culture night.
You are welcome to visit the Main University Building on the Culture night, between 2 pm and 6 pm. Visitors can view the atrium, Main Auditorium, Pillared Hall and Consistory Room.
Activities in the Botanical Garden
Place: Östra Vallgatan 20.
Pop music for children
11:00–12:00 | Pupils from Spyken Upper Secondary School will put on a fun show for children (aged 6-9). Throughout the day, you can also see a photo exhibition made by Spyken pupils who have taken pictures in the Botanical Garden.
Do you know which part of the plant you eat?
12.00-19.30 | Take a look at our beautifully displayed vegetables and see what the whole plants look like in the kitchen garden – not just the parts you buy in the shop.
Make your own apple juice
14:00–17:00 | Children are welcome to make and taste their own apple juice from freshly harvested garden apples, as well as participate in other activities for children.
Botaniska trädgårdens kulturnattsprogram – botan.lu.se (in Swedish)
LUSEM – Lund University School of Economics
Privacy as a human right in the age of AI
As AI becomes part of everyday life, our right to privacy is increasingly at risk. Who is protected — and who is left behind — in the digital age? (in English)
Miranda Kajtazi, Associate professor, Department of Informatics.
See the event on LUSEM’s web page
Historical Museum at Lund University
The Historical Museum at Lund University will be open from 12 noon to 10 pm, with free admission and offers activities for both adults and children during the day and evening. The afternoon (12-16)is more adapted for children and their families, while the evening (17–22) has a more adult-adapted content, activities mainly in Swedish.
Historical Museum program – historiskamuseet.lu.se (in Swedish)
Faculty of Law
Visit the world's first and only international law museum and learn about how international law affects the lives of all of us. The museum will be open 13:15-16:00.
Tours of the Faculty in English will be held at 14:00 and 16:00.
15:15 Lecture | ”How AI Affects Warfare and Defense", Pufendorfsalen, with postdoc Alberto Rinaldi, Faculty of Law.
The faculty of Law’s programme – jur.lu.se (in Swedish)
The Faculty of Theology and the Faculty of Humanities
In our premises – SOL and LUX – we invite you to a mixed programme of lectures, performances and activities for all ages. This year we also highlight three themes with clusters of lectures and activities, they are: Antiquity, Greenland, and Defense and Preparedness. But as always, there are also a variety of other topics you can explore with us.
14.15–14.45 | SOL Foyer | Concert with Skånska mandoliner Atmospheric music from southern Sweden's only mandolin orchestra opens the Culture Night at the Centre for Language and Literature.
The Faculty of Theology and the Faculty of Humanities has some lectures in English.
16.20–17.20 | SOL Hörsal | Reading in Troubled Times: Poetry, Instability and the Work of Solace. Lecture in English
How does poetry speak to us in troubled times, and what does it mean for a poem to offer solace to the reader? As a literary form, poetry is uniquely suited to accompanying us in uncertainty, resisting easy resolution and giving voice to experiences and emotions which might otherwise defy expression.
15.30–15.50 | LUX Aula | Greer Jarrett & Dr Emily Ruiz-Puerta | Ivory trails – tracing Norse-Inuit interactions. Lecture in English
Walrus ivory was a precious commodity supplied by Norse traders to medieval Europe, and was also important to Arctic cultures as a raw material. However, the sources of ivory from medieval Europe have long been unclear, raising important questions about hunting practices, exploration, and levels of contact with Arctic Indigenous groups.
15.30–15.50 | SOL Hörsal | Tornike Metreveli | Between Brotherhood and Empire: The Russian Orthodox Church in Georgia and Ukraine. Lecture in English.
Why did the Russian Orthodox Church, a vocal champion of “Holy Rus” and “Russian World” in Ukraine 2022, adopted a pastoral and restrained tone during the 2008 war with Georgia?
15.30–15.50 | LUX:C121 | Part I: Matthew Tompkins | Genuine Fake Mind Reading. Lecture in English
The writer Arthur C. Clarke wrote that "Any sufficiently advanced technology is indistinguishable from magic.” Our research demonstrates that the reverse is also true; magic illusions can be indistinguishable from advanced technology.
16.00–16.30 | LUX Foajé (utanför LUX:C121) | Part II: Matthew Tompkins | Cognitive Illusion. Demonstration in English
Join Dr. Matt Tompkins for hands-on demonstrations of various cognitive illusions and close-up magic. Learn more about how magic tricks can be used to advance our scientific understanding of human minds.
This demonstration is made in connection with the lecture “Genuine Fake Mind Reading”
17.00–17.20 | LUX C:121 | Maria del Carmen MORENO ESCOBAR | Discovering Lost Roman Harbours in a Changing Mediterranean. Lectue in English.
Discover how the coastlines Romans knew differ dramatically from today's shores! This talk reveals how archaeologists use cutting-edge technology to uncover ancient harbours now hidden beneath waves or stranded inland.
Pufendorf Institute for Advanced Studies
Biskopsgatan 3 in Lund: Kulturnatten 20 September
The following programme items are held in English. All activities are free of charge, but in some cases, you will need tickets due to limited seating.
For the entire programme, please visit the Swedish version of the Pufendorf IAS' website: Kulturnatten | PUFENDORFINSTITUTET
11.30-12.30 | Popular science lecture: Exploring the mysteries of archaeological sites with our senses
Imagine stepping into an ancient place. Can you feel the past, smell the aroma of incense and hear the lively chatter of people? This event will show you how to feel the past at the ancient synagogue in Ostia Antica. Let’s join a journey that will connect you to ancient times just outside Rome. This talk is held by representatives from a former Pufendorf Theme (2024/2025): Ancient Synagogues and the Human Sensorium.
11.30-15.00 | The exhibition: People, Patterns, and Places
‘People, Patterns, and Places’ brings together interdisciplinary science and art in the context of the twin global climate and biodiversity crises. In an increasingly polarized social and political landscape shaped by misinformation, the exhibition weaves together experiences of the climate crisis with tangible, local ecological loss, connecting them to memories of landscapes and small acts of resistance.
The exhibition is a collaboration between researchers at Lund University and artists from Mångfaldens Mönster.
The exhibition (language neutral) is open to the public from 11.30-15.00 (no registration required)
14.00 | Guided tour in English: Welcome to one of Lund's most beautiful buildings - The Pufendorf Institute for Advanced Studies. The house was built in 1886 and has a long academic history. During 45 minutes, you'll hear about the architecture and artifacts and learn from where the institute got its name. Book your ticket here: Guided Tour of the Pufendorf IAS
16:30 - 18:30 | The exhibition: What is Lost? // What is Found? uses playful and speculative approaches to invite deeper reflections on the future of being human in the Age of AI.
By assembling objects and concepts that usually appear distinct from one another, the artworks spark imaginaries that connect the everyday with the existential, and history with future. While the benefits of AI easily are taken for granted, this exhibition invites explorations of how AI (re)shapes human existence, values, and rights, organized around several composite artworks made up of images, texts, sound, video, and readymade objects.
16:30 - 18:30 | The exhibition is open to the public (no registration required). Exhibition tours (in Swedish and/or in English depending on the participants) will be held at 17:00, 17:30 and 18:00 (registration required). Book your ticket here: Guided tours of the exhibition What is Lost? // What is Found?
Open Day 2025 at MAX IV
20 September 2025, 09:00 - 16:00
Welcome to Open Day, the largest public (and free) event of the year at MAX IV!
Visitors of all ages are invited to explore inside the facility, try experiments at the exhibits with scientists, ask your most pressing questions, and learn about the exciting research taking place right here in Lund. There will be activities outside as well for the children. Remember to try some liquid nitrogen ice cream from our Safety team!
You must be registered online to attend the Open Day event. This year, the last ticket release takes place on September 12th at 9:30am. Tickets will be available on the Open Day event web page.
Culture Night at the Faculty of Science
The Faculty of Science offers a science festival with lots of activities for both kids and adults. Enjoy our fast-paced shows, popular science talks, planetarium shows, experiments and exhibitions, science slam, telescope viewings and much more. Welcome to us on Culture Night, Saturday 21 September!
The activities listed below are given in English or doesn’t require Swedish language skills.
Activities at the Department of Physics
Place: Fysicum (Sölvegatan 14) and the Astronomy building (Sölvegatan 27).
13:00–18:00 | Experiments and demonstrations
Place: Fysicum, Sölvegatan 14.
Dive into the exciting world of physics and learn about everything from the smallest building blocks of matter to the mysteries of the cosmos. Meet our researchers and take part in fun experiments and demonstrations. Among other things, we will show you how a scanning electron microscope can be used to zoom in at a microscopic level, and how time seems to slow down when using a high-speed camera.
14:00–23:00 | Games, brainteasers and puzzles
Place: Astronomy building, Sölvegatan 27.
Solve brain teasers, find patterns as quickly as possible, do jigsaw puzzles, fight for dominance on a game board or save the world together! Mensa Syd offers light-hearted (but not light-headed) brain activities for all ages. Are you curious about giftedness in children, intelligence in general and what Mensa is all about? Come and talk with volunteers and meet mensans young and old!
15:00–17:00 | Observing with the solar telescope
Place: Astronomy building, Sölvegatan 27.
If the weather is clear, you can take a look through our solar telescope outside the entrance to the Astronomy building. With the help of the telescope, we can examine the surface of the Sun and try to identify areas where the Sun's magnetic field is strong. Strong magnetic fields cause sunspots with temperatures somewhat lower than on the rest of the solar surface.
16:50 and 21:05 | Lab tour: Exploring the nano world,
Place: Fysicum, Sölvegatan 14.
Learn more about science at the nanometer scale. After a short introduction, we will take you on a tour through the clean room fabrication facilities at Lund Nano Lab. The tour is 50 minutes long and spots are limited – first come, first served.
19:00–20:00 | Science Slam
Place: Fysicum, Sölvegatan 14.
Enjoy fun talks by researchers in a friendly, but competitive, atmosphere. The contenders will each have only five minutes to present their research in an entertaining way, and you get to vote for your favorite to help us determine the winner!
20:00–22:30 | Telescope viewing
Place: Astronomy building, Sölvegatan 27.
Astronomers will bring out their telescopes and invite you to take a closer look at the universe. The telescopes are in the courtyard and on the roof (tours up to the roof are organised in small groups). This is a weather dependent event, so if it is cloudy or rainy the event will unfortunately be cancelled.
20:00, 22:00 and 22:30 | Short talks on Scientific puzzles
Place: Astronomy building, Sölvegatan 27.
Researchers in various scientific disciplines offer short popular science lectures for teenagers and adults.
- 20:00-20:30 “Demystifying AI: How does it work?” with Filip Bar from the Centre for Mathematical Sciences.
- 22:00-22:30 “Stars explosions, nuclear furnaces and you” with Andrea Idini from the Department of Physics.
- 22:30-23:00 “Mass-extinctions!” with Sylvain Richoz from the Department of Geology.
00:30 | Physics and laser show for adults
Place: Fysicum, Sölvegatan 14.
The show is filled with cool physics experiments and an impressive laser show,
which has made great success all over the world. The show is one hour long. You book your ticket in the TicketCo app. Half of the tickets are released a week before Culture Night and the rest are released on the same day as Culture Night (one hour before each show). Check out the Physics and Laser Show Facebook page for updates.
Activities at Vattenhallen Science Center
Place: John Ericssons väg 1.
11:00–20:00 | Activities outside the entrance
Try different activities such as face painting and giant soap bubbles. The café is open and researchers from different parts of the University showcase their research.
11:00–20:00 | Exhibitions and demonstration
Enjoy the exhibitions and go on a guided tour of the exhibition “From mouth to rectum” between 19:00 and 20:00. The air and water demonstration takes place at 19:30 on the main stage.
19:00 | Quantum show
A physics show that takes you on a journey through waves, music, energy, colour and laser light. The show illustrates the micro and nano world that the researchers at the MAX IV laboratory work with daily. The show is 45 minutes long. Tickets can be picked up at the café by the entrance to Vattenhallen – one hour before the show starts (please note: limited number of seats, first come, first served).
19:00, 19:20, 19:40 and 20:00 | Planetarium show,
The show "Supermassive Black Holes: Uncovering the Invisible" gives you an insight into how astronomers use both numerical simulations and state-of-the-art observations to gain understanding of these mysterious objects hiding at the hearts of distant galaxies.
Culture Night at the Faculty of Science
Culture Night at Skissernas Museum!
Take part in art exhibitions, guided tours, performance and a large workshop in Birgit Rausing’s hall. In the park you can have your portrait drawn in a “Live Portrait Booth” and on the restaurant’s terrace DJs provide a great atmosphere all evening.
Today’s opening hours follow the event: 15:00–22:00. Free admission
- See all Lund University's events during the Culture Night (in Swedish)
- Read more about the Culture night at Lund municipality website
- The entire programme with over 200 events in Swedish and English on the Culture NIght Lund website.