On Saturday 10 May, academic staff members, postgraduate students and post-doctoral fellows from the department participated in the university’s Open Day for high school learners from all over the Eastern Cape. Over 1000 learners attended, with 170 of these being prospective Science faculty students. The department participated in this initiative by putting together a display showcasing the different disciplines. Learners were taught about the ubiquitous nature of microbes in our environment by looking at plates sampled from various public spaces, including lift buttons, bannisters, ATM buttons, money, etc, and how we protect against harmful microbes by washing of hands and the use of antibiotics and natural substances like lemon and garlic. They were also given the opportunity to observe Gram-stained bacteria under the microscope. In addition, they were shown a stromatolite fossil and various funky fungi. A molecular dynamics simulation, DNS assay plate to show sugar content of fruit juices and a resazurin assay plate, used in anti-cancer screening, completed our display. Thank you to everyone who made this day such a big success!