Darwineum
The Darwineum in the Rostock Zoological Garden , which opened on September 7, 2012, combines museum exhibitions with a zoological collection. More than 80 animal species live here on a total of 20,000 square meters, including western lowland gorilla , Bornean orangutan , ring -tailed lemur , pygmy marmoset , beaked hedgehog , mudskipper and axolotl . With a cost of 28.94 million euros, it was the largest construction project in the history of the Rostock Zoo.
The biological diversity of life in the course of evolution is shown in two interactive exhibition areas . You can see living fossils , aquariums , Germany's largest jellyfish top and much more. The center of the Darwineum is the tropical hall . The 4,000 square meter tropical house houses the gorillas and orangutans. The great apes live here associated with Brazzameerkatzen and Gibbons in natural habitats.
Evolution exhibition
The evolution exhibition is dedicated to the question of how life on earth came about. The development stages are documented with the aid of graphics, panels and fossils. In a total of eight “berths”, the information is deepened with exhibits and animals.
The life and work of Charles Darwin is honored in the foyer. The visitors learn something about his ideas and theses. Charles Darwin brought back giant Galapagos tortoises from his trip , which he discovered in the Galapagos Islands . Four representatives of this tortoise species can also be admired in the foyer of the Darwineum. The prologue deals with the Big Bang and in the rotunda visitors can understand geological processes of prehistoric times ( continental drift or geological hotspot , etc.) and the migration of people.
The first themed bunk shows how, about four billion years ago, the first simple organic compounds found the prerequisites for the emergence of life on the extremely hostile earth, and how the first cells emerged in the primeval oceans that shield themselves from the environment by means of a simple membrane .
In the second bunk, the ocean of wonder animals in Germany's largest jellyfish top and the Nautilus aquarium comes to life. Live fossils can also be observed with the horseshoe crabs in the neighboring paludarium . These already existed in the Cambrian and they still live today on the American Atlantic coast and in Southeast Asia.
In bunk three, a theory is shown how the different body constructions developed and the visitors devote themselves to the "blueprints of life" - with the help of panels, models and living representatives such as the African giant millipede , the tiger agate snail , the walking leaf or Indian glass catfish .
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Coral reefs are the cradles of evolution. Tropical coral reefs are the habitat of many animal species and thus a decisive factor for the biodiversity of the oceans, where new species of animals emerge, which are then exported to other ecosystems. A colorful coral reef can be seen in the fourth bunk in the Darwineum.
Bunk five is about how life conquered the land. You can see here mudskippers that as amphibious crawling live fish on their heavily thickened pectoral fins and when can live in the water on land as well.
The sixth bunk deals with the heyday of the dinosaurs . Some species of dinosaurs were the largest living things to ever populate the earth. In the course of evolution, birds evolved from the smaller ones and the first animals conquered the air. Almost at the same time as the dinosaurs, the first mammals develop - small individuals the size of a mouse. In a terrarium in this bunk, the rhino iguanas and the black and white Tejus live extremely adaptable lizard species.
Coevolution is an evolutionary process of mutual adaptation of two different species in the course of their tribal history for mutual benefit. Initially, some insect species looked for food on flowering plants and happened to spread their pollen. This became a success story that made a significant contribution to biodiversity on earth. You can see a colony of leaf cutter ants in the seventh bunk .
The eighth bunk deals with developments in the Tertiary and Quaternary periods . Due to their anatomical characteristics, the mammals best defied the climatic peculiarities of this era, which ended with the Ice Age and the extinction of the mammoth . You can see in this bunk Harris-antelope squirrel laying eggs and echidnas .
Tropical hall
In the 4,000 square meter tropical hall, the gorillas and orangutans live in natural habitats together with gibbons , sloths and pygmy marmosets . From a suspension bridge or over floor-to-ceiling panes, visitors are apparently within reach of the animals. Plenty of space have the apes on their grounds. An area of 4,500 square meters is available for the gorillas and 3,500 square meters for the orangutans. These are extensively planted according to the natural living conditions of the great apes and designed with swamp oases, watercourses and climbing landscapes.
- Tropical hall
Tropical hall in the Darwineum
Gorilla group in the tropical hall
Sloth in the tropical hall
Tropical hall
Orangutan in the tropical hall
Cultural evolution
The last exhibition area in the Darwineum deals with the cultural evolution of humans - from the use of the first tools to the development of language and writing to genetic research. Here it is shown how man became more skillful and how his skills became more complicated. In addition to many interactive games, animals can also be seen here with axolotl and zebrafish in two aquariums.
Fundraiser and funding
The Darwineum was the largest construction project in the history of the Rostock Zoo. Of the costs of 28.94 million euros, 22.94 million euros came from funds from the Ministry of Economics, Building and Tourism of the State of Mecklenburg-Western Pomerania, 4.4 million euros from loans, 1.45 million euros from donations and 150,000 Euros from funds from the city of Rostock. The donations in the amount of more than one million euros were collected through the successful implementation of the fundraising campaign “Creating for the monkeys”. After more than ten years of planning, the great apes' new home was officially opened in September 2012.
Web links
Individual evidence
- ^ Rostock Zoo Darwineum. In: https://www.zoo-rostock.de/ . Rostock Zoological Garden gGmbH, accessed on December 11, 2019 .
- ↑ Evolution exhibition in the Darwineum. In: https://www.zoo-rostock.de/ . Rostock Zoological Garden gGmbH, accessed on December 11, 2019 .
- ^ Charles Darwin and the theory of evolution. Retrieved December 11, 2019 .
- ^ Evolution theory Charles Darwin and Alfred Russel Wallace. Retrieved December 11, 2019 .
- ^ Tropical hall in the Darwineum Zoo Rostock. Retrieved December 11, 2019 .
Coordinates: 54 ° 4 ′ 41.1 ″ N , 12 ° 5 ′ 25.3 ″ E