Imaginata
The Imaginata is a German science center in Jena . The Experimentarium for the senses with its station park is one of the first such centers in Germany.
Imaginata was founded in 1995 by Gundela Irmert-Müller and Peter Fauser , and is located in the former Jena-Nord substation . There you can experiment on around 1,500 m² with over 100 exhibits from the fields of optical illusions , physics and mathematics.
concept
The greatest concern of the Imaginata is to stimulate the imagination of its visitors and to enable in-depth learning through independent experimentation. In this context, in the station park , perceptual psychological , physical and mathematical phenomena are clearly illustrated for all senses with the help of experiments and not only made comprehensible in a figurative sense. The theoretical basis lies in the concept of imaginative or understanding-intensive learning.
Imaginative learning is the approach that for effective, profound learning in which contexts are understood, content must be clearly presented and personal ideas must be formed (see also Inner Child ). The promotion of the imagination, which is created through the stimulation and the space for (thought) games and experiments, therefore plays a key role here. The theory of intensive learning is a further development of imaginative learning. It combines their approach with learning through making experiences, learning through the connection of haptic perception and the mental activity of "understanding", as well as with the approach that new images can be created on the basis of one's own imagination ( metacognition ).
Today not only the Imaginata with its station park are located in the Jena-Nord substation, but also the chair for school education and school development at the Friedrich Schiller University Jena , the office of the student competition Democratic Action and the development program for teaching and learning quality (EULE. ).
history
The “imaginative learning” project began as early as 1991 at the Institute for Educational Sciences at the Eberhard Karls University in Tübingen , where Peter Fauser and Otto Seydel wrote an initial scientific concept. The support of the Heidehof Foundation (at that time still “Foundation for Education and Disability Funding GmbH”), which has remained the main supporter of Imaginata to this day, was particularly important at this early stage. In 1995 the first Summer Imaginata took place in Jena in June, which was planned and carried out by students of the project seminar on imaginative learning, as well as by students and teachers from Jena schools. This event, which at that time still lasted a week, filled the main building of the Friedrich Schiller University Jena and the streets and squares around the building with scientific experiment stations, but also with theater projects and concerts. In December of the same year, the non-profit association "Imaginata eV" was founded. In 1997 and 1998 the Jena-Nord substation was acquired. The move to the building could already be started in spring 1999 after some repair and renovation work. After the Jena city center had been enlivened by a summer imaginata for one week each year since 1995, the Imaginata station park 2000 was opened for the first time for five months from June to November. Imaginata also took part in the summer of 2000 with a small station park and theater performances during the Thuringia Week in the German Pavilion at the EXPO 2000 in Hanover. In the following year, the pit lane was equipped with optical experiments and has since been used as part of the station park.
Every year since 1996, Imaginata has had a special motto. Readings , concerts, competitions and happenings take place on each of these topics throughout the year .
Annual themes
The annual themes at a glance:
| 1996: "licht.optik.sehen" | 2000: "Round things" | 2004: "Traces" | 2008: "elementary" | 2012: "Life Energy" |
| 1997: "Lust for movement" | 2001: "End and Beginning" | 2005: "actually" | 2009: "form" | 2013: "Clues" |
| 1998: "Hearing with all your senses" | 2002: "Pictures in the head" | 2006: "Hand and Foot" | 2010: "Outrage" | 2014: "A sense of proportion" |
| 1999: "Metamorphoses" | 2003: "World and Worlds" | 2007: "Paths" | 2011: "Weak - or strong?" | 2015: "Let it be" |
2016: "really"
Web links
- www.imaginata.de
- "Democratic Action Funding Program" competition
- Development program for teaching and quality of learning (EULE)
- Chair for School Education and School Development
Coordinates: 50 ° 56 ′ 36.5 ″ N , 11 ° 36 ′ 7.5 ″ E