Date: Friday, 17 October 2025
Start: 20:00u CET
Duration: +/- 2 hours
Entrance: Free, but limited capacity (register via info@varia.zone)
We’re fully booked! For upcoming rat tours, see: https://expeditieratterdam.nl/
Starting Poing: Varia, Gouwstraat 3 (3082 BA Rotterdam)

Where there are people, there are rats. That’s been true for a long time and will likely remain so for the foreseeable future, especially in Rotterdam. While rats love who we are and what we do, unfortunately, that love isn’t always reciprocated. All too often, rats are portrayed as unwelcome profiteers spreading nasty diseases. That’s not entirely accurate. Rats are actually very smart, social, resourceful, and successful. They resemble us in many ways. Isn’t hating rats actually a form of self-hatred? High time to find out once and for all!

Together with Expedition Ratterdam we embark on a quest to find the true Rotterdam city rat. We’ll begin our journey at Varia and then head out into Charlois. Using special equipment, we’ll observe the rats in their familiar surroundings. Maarten Bel (known from Ratterdam Tours) and Niek Hilkmann (known from the Europigeon Songbird Contest) will open the conversation between humans and rats and shed light on our complicated relationship in all its facets and from different perspectives. Whether you’re a rodent lover or a die-hard rat hater, after this expedition your view of rats will be forever changed!

This walk is part of Common Dirt, an ongoing event series organized by Varia, in which we critically examine the intersections of biology and technology in Rotterdam. Each season, we take a walk to explore how these two influence each other and how developments in nature and urban policy intertwine. Central to this is an interwoven vision of urban nature, in which the way nature adapts to city life offers hints and clues for our own existence in times of increasing urbanization. Common Dirt is part of Varia’s Homebrewing research thread. With this research, we aim to collaboratively experiment and demystify technological practices.

This project is supported by the Creative Industries Fund NL.