Extavium
| Data | |
|---|---|
| place | Potsdam |
| Art |
Natural science hands-on museum, non-profit association
|
| opening | 2006 First opening in Wetzlarer Straße as Exploratorium Potsdam 2011 Renaming to Extavium 2012 Reopening at Filmpark Babelsberg 2015 Reopening in the city center |
| management |
Curator: Axel Werner
|
| Website | |
The Extavium (until May 2011 Exploratorium Potsdam ), the so-called “hands-on museum”, is a scientific, didactic children's museum in Potsdam.
The concept
In the Extavium, natural science should be made understandable in order to introduce children between five and twelve years of age to the basics of science in a playful way. For secondary schools there are also suitable didactic-museum educational offers in the form of experiment courses and lectures. The museum would like to get children, pupils and laypeople more enthusiastic about science.
timeline
preparation
In June 2004, seven parents from Potsdam founded the Exploratorium Potsdam e. V. with the aim of building a scientific hands-on museum and began to build the first scientific exhibits. The workshop work on the exhibits began in November 2004. In April 2005 there was a test phase for the exhibits in the elementary school at Griebnitzsee. In the same year the first exhibition with 50 exhibits and the chemistry laboratory was realized with the Autumn Exploratorium in Potsdam Central Station . 12,000 visitors were counted in five weeks.
Location Wetzlarer Strasse (from 2006)
In September 2006, a permanent exhibition space was opened in a hall on Wetzlarer Strasse in Potsdam- Babelsberg . In April 2007, the Exploratorium received the award as an “innovative and future-oriented place in the land of ideas” (patronage by Federal President Horst Köhler ). The anniversary celebration took place in September 2007, where the Prime Minister Matthias Platzeck and Lord Mayor Jann Jakobs were also present. In October 2007 the mark of 100,000 visitors was reached since it was founded.
The school program started in September 2008. In October 2008, MOSAIK Verlag published the research book for schoolchildren from the Exploratorium How does the world work? Natural phenomena in Axel Werner's everyday life . In November 2008, Filmpark Babelsberg GmbH became a partner in Exploratorium Potsdam e. V. and has supported the club's team ever since. In the same month, the award as “Lighthouse for a culture of sustainability” was given.
In June 2009 the Exploratorium was awarded the Adolf Reichwein Prize for Education. The 250,000. The visitor was received in September 2009 in the presence of Prime Minister Matthias Platzeck. The Exploratorium also celebrated its third birthday with 100 children from the Potsdamer and Berliner Arche.
The founders Elizabeth Prommer , Ulrich Hienzsch and Axel Werner signed the Golden Book of the City of Potsdam in January 2010. In September 2010, the Exploratorium Potsdam opened an offshoot in Eisenhüttenstadt : the Mini-Exploratorium in the local cultural center. In December 2010, MOSAIK Verlag published the second part of the research book How does the world work? Natural phenomena in Axel Werner's everyday life .
Renaming (2011)
On June 1, 2011, the Exploratorium was renamed Extavium - the scientific hands-on museum . The new name Extavium is linked to the previous name Exploratorium with the first syllable Ex- and the ending -ium . The middle part of the name tavi consists of the first letters of the Latin words terra (earth), aqua (water), ventus (wind) and ignis (fire). This means the four elements handed down from antiquity ("wind" here stands for the element "air"). The fifth element, the “ quintessence ”, is supposed to be a visit to the Extavium, during which research, amazement and questions lead to the realization of how the world works.
New opening in the Babelsberg Film Park (2012)
In March 2012, nine months after the renaming, the Extavium was reopened in the Caligari Hall at the Babelsberg Film Park. In December 2012, the variety of experimental courses increased to 50 different offers.
Move to the city center (2015)
The Extavium has been located in Potsdam city center, Am Kanal 57, since August 2015.
Collection, exhibition and courses
The motto of the Extavium is "Participate - be amazed - understand". This principle is reflected in the conception of the museum, which aims to satisfy the curiosity of children and young people about the natural sciences and the laws and principles of natural phenomena with 60 interactive exhibits and changing experimentation courses. Phenomena such as gravitation or magnetism are clearly explained by providing visual material and experimentation .
Experiments and research are carried out in two experimental laboratories. The museum offers courses at different levels of learning for kindergarten children, primary school students and secondary school students. Educators, teachers and parents can receive further training in workshops and on advanced training days. The focus of the exhibition is the recognition of scientific phenomena in connection with everyday events. The exhibits in the exhibition can be touched and explored. Trained tutors are available to answer questions.
Web links
Individual evidence
- ↑ a b About us extavium.de
- ↑ a b c d e f Extavium brochure with chronicle (p. 10–12), as of 2013 (PDF)
- ↑ Exploratorium is now called Extavium Potsdamer Latest News, May 27, 2011
- ↑ Extavium opens in new rooms Potsdamer Latest News, August 15, 2015.
Coordinates: 52 ° 23 '51.8 " N , 13 ° 3' 50.6" E