Travel Destinations for Microbe Lovers

Microbes have a massive impact across the globe. They live in and on almost any person, place, or thing you can imagine. If you are interested in microbes, this idea probably excites you, and you might even travel to learn more about microbes and the historical figures who studied them or see the landscapes they have shaped. So, I’ve compiled a list of travel destinations for microbe lovers, which can enrich your next trip or guide the location of your next adventure.

You may have heard of science tourism, a type of travel focused on attractions related to science (museums, research facilities, historical sites). I’ve narrowed the focus here to microbial science tourism because microbial attractions are scattered all around the world, and we love microbes. I’ve provided some details for each location and included a few photos. The travel destinations are divided into the following categories: museums, natural features, and historical sites.

Museums

Micropia (Amsterdam, Netherlands)

The Micropia website states it is the “world’s first museum of microbes.” Personally, I feel like I can’t get to the Netherlands quickly enough to see this amazing place. One purpose of Micropia is to show everyone that microbes are not all bad — in fact, we can’t live without them.

Museum of Microbiology at the Butantan Institute (São Paulo, Brazil)

This microbiology museum in Brazil displays microscopes and 3D models of microbes and offers interactive activities and special courses for school groups.

Pasteur Museum (Paris, France)

The Pasteur Institute was named in honor of the French microbiologist Louis Pasteur, who made discoveries regarding vaccination, fermentation, and pasteurization. The Pasteur Museum is housed at the Pasteur Institut and has on display Louis Pasteur’s lab equipment and notebooks. You can also tour his and his family’s apartment.

The Pasteur Workshop (Dole, France)

The Atelier Pasteur is an educational center named after scientist Louis Pasteur. It offers science workshops and activities for both students and the general public. Through experimentation and hands-on learning, visitors can explore microbiology concepts in a fun and engaging way.

Alexander Fleming Laboratory Museum (London, England)

At the Alexander Fleming Laboratory Museum, you can see where Sir Alexander Fleming, a Scottish microbiologist, discovered the antibiotic penicillin. The laboratory has been restored to what it would have looked like in 1928.

The Museum at the Robert Koch Institute (Berlin, Germany)

The Robert Koch Institute, like the Pasteur Institute, has a museum dedicated to its namesake. The German microbiologist Robert Koch made some major microbiological discoveries, including identifying the bacteria that cause tuberculosis and anthrax and developing Koch’s Postulates, which allowed for the identification of disease-causing microbes.

David J. Sencer CDC Museum (Atlanta, Georgia)

The Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC), in collaboration with the Smithsonian Institution, offers its own museum experience for free at the David J. Sencer CDC Museum at the CDC Headquarters in Atlanta, Georgia. Here, you can learn more about the inner workings of the CDC.

International Outbreak Museum (Portland, Oregon)

At the International Outbreak Museum, you can see items that were sources of disease outbreaks, including tampons from a toxic shock syndrome outbreak and methicillin-resistant Staphylococcus aureus (MRSA)-contaminated tattoo ink. Tours are by appointment only.

Meguro Parasitological Museum (Tokyo, Japan)

The Meguro Parasitological Museum is a private research facility in Japan founded in 1953. It displays hundreds of parasite specimens and educates visitors about parasites and their impact on humans and animals. The museum also conducts research, sells parasite specimens for educators to use in the classroom, and provides work-study programs.

Natural Features

Mosquito Bay (Vieques, Puerto Rico)

See the bioluminescent plankton Pyrodinium bahamense living in the water at Mosquito Bay. At night, you can see them light up when the water is agitated.

Yellowstone National Park (Wyoming)

The Grand Prismatic Spring at Yellowstone’s Midway Geyser Basin is home to microbes that create an amazing display of bright-colored bands around the hot spring water. These microbes thrive at different temperatures — some at extremely hot temperatures (thermophiles) closer to the center — and create unique colors.

Orakei Korako (Taupo, New Zealand)

Another colorful microbial attraction is at Orakei Korako, where you can see microbial mats — gigantic, thick layers of various microbial species living at different temperatures at this geothermal site (sites that are hot due to the heat from the earth).

Four Windows Cave (El Malpais National Monument, New Mexico)

The Four Windows Cave is yet another place where you can find microbial mats, except these are inside a volcanic lava cave.

Sippewissett Salt Marsh (Cape Cod, Massachusetts)

The ground of the Sippewissett Salt Marsh is covered by microbial mats with green, pink, black, and gray layers, with the color of each layer representing different microbes.

Stromatolites in New York State (Saratoga, NY)

Lester Park is a unique outdoor exhibit showcasing fossils of a 490 million-year-old tropical sea floor. Located northwest of Saratoga, New York, the park features rocks formed by ancient algae (stromatolites) and other marine fossils. Visitors can learn about these stromatolites, the first discovered in North America, through informative signs located throughout the park.

Stromatolites in Glacier National Park (Montana)

Another place to view stromatolites is Glacier National Park. To an unknowing observer, they would appear as interestingly shaped rocks.

Strýtan Hydrothermal Vent (Eyjafjörður, Iceland)

For scuba-diving microbe lovers! Strýtan is a unique hydrothermal chimney located in a fjord on the north coast of Iceland. Unlike chimneys found in the deep ocean, Strýtan is shallow enough for scuba diving, ranging from 15 to 65 meters deep. This makes it the only chimney of its kind accessible to divers. If you want to visit, you can check out Strýtan Divecenter’s Strýtan Day Tour.

Río Tinto (Huelva, Spain)

The Rio Tinto in Spain is a river teeming with extremophiles. These microbes live in the river’s extreme acidity and unique chemistry rich in iron and heavy metals. For microbe enthusiasts, visiting Rio Tinto is a must-see as it has advanced our understanding of extremophiles and is considered an Earth-based analog for studying Mars.

Shark Bay (Denham, Australia)

Enjoy more microbial mats at Shark Bay. The Shark Bay website has a great PDF with beautiful illustrations that explains how microbial mats form stromatolites. Definitely check it out. They describe the microbial mats as “microscopic rainforests.” How wonderful is that?

Green Lake (Fayetteville, NY)

An intriguing feature in New York is Green Lake, a meromictic lake where the water column is divided into vertical layers in which different microbes make their homes. Fallen trees in the lake became covered with mats of cyanobacteria over the years. On some parts of the lake shore, large microbial reefs (microbialites) formed over time as the cyanobacteria interacted with minerals in the water. These rock-like structures continue to slowly increase in size due to a top layer of living cyanobacteria.

Great Salt Lake (Utah)

The Great Salt Lake is a massive feature around 70 miles long that contains a variety of halophilic (salt-loving) microbes. Multi-species microbial mats, including red haloarchaea and halophilic algae, often bloom along the shoreline. In several areas of the lake, for instance, off Antelope Island, microbial reefs (microbialites) form over time, similar to those in Green Lake, described above.

White Cliffs of Dover (Dover, England)

The White Cliffs of Dover were formed from coccoliths, the microscopic skeletons of planktonic green algae called coccolithophores. Together with other sea life remains, the coccoliths built up to create the now beautiful White Cliffs of Dover.

Atacama Desert (Chile)

Visiting the Atacama Desert will be a trip more for the appreciation of the microbes that can live in this environment. It’s extreme. Go there, look around, and know that microbes are everywhere, even in the dry Atacama Desert.

Biological Soil Crusts (Southeast Utah)

All over the earth, microbes live in soil. But in Southeast Utah (Arches National Park, Canyonlands National Park, Hovenweep National Monument, Natural Bridges National Monument), you can see how the microbes create a lumpy, crusty top layer of soil here.

Mono Lake (California)

Mono Lake has a history of controversy. A bacterium discovered here was claimed to be able to use arsenic, a highly toxic substance, in its DNA instead of the usual phosphorus. Later, this idea was disproved by two papers, but the organism is still highly resistant to arsenic, which is impressive on its own.

Historical Sites

Antonie van Leeuwenhoek Historical Sites (Delft, Netherlands)

In Delft, you can roam the hometown of the lens maker, Antonie van Leeuwenhoek, who drastically improved the microscope. A plaque resides at the former location of his house and the city hall where he worked still stands, and the Oude Kerk (Old Church) holds a crypt where he was buried.

John Snow Pub and Broad Street Water Pump (London, England)

A water pump in London is the site of the source of the 1854 Broad Street cholera outbreak in London, which John Snow discovered. Broad Street is now Broadwick Street, where you can also raise a glass to honor John Snow at the John Snow Pub.

Father Damien Statue at the Saint Damien Church (Molokai, Hawaii)

The Catholic priest Father Damien cared for leprosy patients quarantined on the Hawaiian island Molokai. At Molokai, you can visit a statue in his honor at the Saint Damien Church.

Louis Pasteur’s Birth House (Dole, France)

The house where Louis Pasteur was born in Dole, France is now a museum dedicated to his life and work. The museum features Pasteur’s personal objects and documents. Visitors can learn about Pasteur’s life and scientific contributions through exhibits, guided tours, and special events.

Louis Pasteur’s House (Arbois, France)

The house of Louis Pasteur in Arbois is a unique place where visitors can step back in time and experience the life of the scientist. Originally his father’s tannery, Pasteur transformed the house into his own comfortable home and research space. Here, surrounded by family and friends, he conducted his groundbreaking work on fermentation and pasteurization. The house is preserved exactly as it was when Pasteur lived there, offering a glimpse into his personal and professional life.

Happy Microbial Science Travels

Did you ever imagine you could visit so many destinations relating to microbes? Now, you can plan your vacations around microbes. And who wouldn’t want to do that?

Whether you get a chance to visit these places or not, one thought I’d like to leave you with is that microbes are everywhere. I say this over and over again, but it’s because I believe it’s fascinating to keep in mind. Look around wherever you are and appreciate that, even though you cannot see the individual cells, you are looking at microbes and the landscapes they shape. You can do this anywhere you go.

A huge thanks to Scott Chimileski for providing fantastic photos and ideas for this post. View more of his photography on his website.

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Want to take your kids on a hands-on exploration of the microscopic world? Be sure to grab my ebook, ‘Joyful Microbiology Activities,’ which has 10 fun and simple microbiology activities you can do at home or in the classroom!

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