Phenomenta (Flensburg)

The building stock of thephenomenta (2013)

The Phänomenta in Flensburg is a science center , which as an institute for European University Flensburg belongs. It is the first of its kind, which the name Phänomenta received. Similar establishments in other cities took the name from the Flensburg Adventure Museum .

concept

Phenomenta wind chimes at the Flensburg harbor (picture 2013)

The target group of thephenomenta are especially school-age children. With the help of experiment stations, the visitors should learn problems from mathematics , physics and understanding of technology . Thephenomenta wants to stand out from other science centers in that the elementary learning process is more central. The Phenomenta's motto is: “From amazement to thought”. In thephenomenta the visitor should make unusual experiences through experiments, not only consume them, but also question and research what they perceive. In comparison to conventional museums, thephenomenta takes a playful approach. The focus is on the visitor and his experience.

If it is forbidden to touch the exhibits at other museum exhibitions, it is expressly allowed to use the exhibits at the Phenomenta exhibition. However, each exhibit has a name and no physical description is attached to them. Signs on the exhibits only give impulses for action. The signs on the exhibits are now in German and, for the most part, also in Danish. In line with the pedagogical approach, no explanations are given and there is no fixed educational trail. The visitors should be given enough time to gain knowledge by trying out the exhibits.

Examples of exhibits are a space travel trainer for rotation tours, an Ames room or the simpler exhibit “ building blocks ” in which a visitor is asked to build four roughly brick-sized wooden blocks so that they protrude as far as possible over an edge. The experiments are not intended to replace school lessons, but rather to ideally complement them. According to Lutz Fiesser, the inventor of the Phenomenta, continuous encounters with phenomena and experiment stations are desirable. For children in kindergarten who are three to six years old, a “dwarf phenomenon” was designed, which consists of 20 experiments.

There is no guided tour, no tour in thephenomenta. There are no supervisors, but supervisors. In the early 2000s, however, a series of lectures called “Whistle on Sunday” took place regularly every Sunday at 11 am. Such a loosely held lecture, which was particularly aimed at parents with their children, dealt with individual subject-related aspects of physics. It is unclear whether such lectures are still taking place today.

history

Emergence

In 1985, one year after the city's 700th anniversary , the physicist and physics didacticist Lutz Fiesser from the University of Education in Flensburg-Mürwik came up with the idea for thephenomenta. The pedagogical university served the teacher training for elementary schools , secondary schools and secondary schools . Fiesser's goal was also to improve physics lessons, because he feared that physics would interest the students less and less. At the Flensburger high schools , there were at that time apparently only a physics credit course . Fiesser wondered why and assumed that there was too little experimentation in schools. He and his colleagues from the Institute for Physics and Didactics therefore developed the first experimental stations, which they then set up in the corridors and courtyards of the University of Education, which was located near the Volkspark . The set up experiment stations ensured activity, noise and fun. The setup of the experiments was accompanied by extensive research work and additional interactive exhibits were developed. By 1988, 100 experimental stations had been developed at the University of Education.

The boarded up, former savings bank building with the new building and the covered Nordertor behind it (2012)

Establishment

After the realization of this first collection of experiments, the desire arose to exhibit it in a separate science museum and to collect admission for it. This idea initially met with skepticism in local politics in Flensburg. An attempt to realize such a museum in Kiel is said to have also failed at this time. But in the end the project found support in Flensburg politics, especially with the mayor Olaf Cord Dielewicz . The court ensemble in Norderstrasse near the Nordertor , which had apparently been seized by young squatters and who had been relocated to the oat market , was selected for the project . In October 1990 the building committee in the Flensburg town hall approved the renovation of the court ensemble in order to set up the new science museum there. Then a neighboring house was rented where a workshop was set up in which exhibits were built. In 1993, the first exhibition space in Norderstrasse was moved into and furnished. Then in the summer of 1993 these first rooms were opened to visitors. At the beginning there were around 100 visitors per day.

The year 1995 is considered the actual year of birth of the Phenomenta. On August 3rd of that year, the completed complex was officially opened and inaugurated by the Minister of Culture, Marianne Tidick . Now thephenomenta consisted of the converted cultural monuments Haus Norderstraße 159 and Haus Norderstraße 161, which were built in the 19th century The new glass extension on the north side of the house Norderstraße 161 also belonged to thephenomenta. Thephenomenta was barrier-free and therefore had one Elevator. At that time, thephenomenta already offered 1,800 m ^{2 of} exhibition space.

In the time after that, public exhibits were also permanently installed on the Holm , the Große Straße and at the Flensburg harbor near thephenomenta. Obviously there was no maintenance of these exhibits, so that the majority of them disintegrated and were destroyed over time. The actual Phenomenta at Nordertor had around 120 experiment stations around the year 2000.

First extension

In 2002, thephenomenta also took over the former brick savings bank building from 1951, which was built by the Flensburg city architect Gottlieb Nietsch. On May 21, 2003, after a year of renovation, the former savings bank building was reopened as the "House of Communication". There was space for 20 experiments on communication in the new exhibition area. With the takeover of the building, the exhibition area increased to 2,500 m ² . In 2004, thephenomenta housed 150 experimental stations. In 2005 thephenomenta reached a visitor record of 83,000 visitors, but in the following years the number of visitors should fall again.

Extension to the Nordertor

Another expansion was decided in the middle of the first decade of the 2000s. The design by the Hamburg architect Klaus Sill emerged as the winner from a municipal competition in August 2005. The design consisted of a western and an eastern structure adjoining the north gate. In 2007/2008 the western structure was first realized. Its construction costs amounted to four million euros, 70 percent of which were financed by the state and the EU. The former savings bank building was rebuilt for better integration into the Phenomena complex. A modern concrete structure was placed in front of this building on the entrance side facing Norderstraße, which was used to create a conscious contrast to the surrounding old structure. The facade of this extension building was given blue glazing that can be illuminated at night. The aforementioned extension, which was supposed to serve as a spacious entrance building, was allowed to take full possession of the open space. The annex was built directly onto the city's landmark, the Nordertor, which was to be used for special exhibitions. The result led to numerous complaints from the citizens of Flensburg. The appearance of the new building was also heavily criticized by the Flensburg Beautification Association. The project was then discontinued. The optically corresponding extension on the opposite eastern side of the Nordertore was no longer implemented. This new building was intended to serve as a “cathedral of the senses” to enable human perception to be experienced. However, another exhibition object was realized in front of thephenomenta on Nordertorplatz, a rust-colored water bed with a few cascades . Since then, thephenomenta has an exhibition area of 3,500 m ² , on which around 200 experiment stations have been set up. A large hall offers space for 200 guests. For example, for the state elections in Schleswig-Holstein in 2017 , a public discussion was held there in April of that year between the SPD politicians Ralf Stegner and Klaus Wowereit . With the extension, thephenomenta was designed for 100,000 visitors annually. This number was not only never reached in the following years, the number of visitors even fell to a lower level than before the renovation.

Operation after cultivation

In the sunny summer of 2013, the number of visitors fell below 60,000. In 2014 there were again around 60,000 visitors. In July of that year, when the temperature was high, fewer than 6,000 guests came. In contrast, more than 12,000 guests came in rainy August. At the beginning of 2015, as in all of Germany, the minimum wage was introduced, which resulted in additional costs of 45,000 euros for operating thephenomenta, which should be offset by higher funding sums. In 2015, thephenomenta had ten permanent employees and thirty student assistants. The personnel costs as well as the costs for new experiment stations resulted in annual operating costs of about one million euros for thephenomenta. In August / September 2015 thephenomenta celebrated its twentieth anniversary, because the idea came up thirty years earlier, but thephenomenta was inaugurated in 1995. In the anniversary year 2015, 66,000 people visited thephenomenta.

At the beginning of 2017, the inventor of the Phenomenta, Lutz Fiesser, was awarded the Federal Cross of Merit on ribbon for his work . The number of visitors to the Flensburg Phenomena is tending to decrease today. According to the Phenomenta boss, the reasons for this are the growing commercial competition from other offers, such as fun parks, less time with young people through afternoon classes and the high entrance fees for the Phenomenta. Nevertheless, the annual visitors today are apparently almost 70,000 visitors a year.

Offshoot

In 1995 it was the only science center in Germany. In the course of time, independent offshoots of thephenomenta emerged across Germany, which pursue a similar concept to the Flensburgphenomenta. Today there are already more than twenty science centers in Germany. Many of these were realized with the support of the Flensburg Phenomena. The Flensburg Phenomenta also sells and rents out some of its exhibits. This sale and rental of exhibits by thephenomenta generates important income for thephenomenta. There is also a museum shop in the entrance area that sells similar items on a smaller scale, such as gyroscopes . Another project of the university is the promotion of so-called mini-phenomenas. To this end, teachers are invited to two-day training courses in which they build their own experiment stations. With regard to the didactics discipline , it should be noted that children should not be offered hasty explanations. You should learn through experimentation. In the next step, the teachers are offered a complete mini phenomena of 52 stations for their respective school, which can be borrowed for 14 days. In addition, the teachers receive building instructions for recreating these experiments. The last step should be that the teachers organize workshops for parents of the school, which are to recreate the stations for a permanent mini-phenomenon in the school. Around 3,000 schools are said to have participated in the Miniphänomenta project so far. The corresponding book with the building instructions appeared in Latvian, Thai and apparently also in Polish. However, the namephenomenta remained a protected name. Applications for its use for public exhibitions can be submitted to the Flensburg Phenomenta.

support

The association "phenomenta eV "was founded, which is responsible for the exhibition of thephenomenta and works closely with the University of Flensburg. Thephenomenta is administratively integrated as an affiliated institute of the university, which is scientifically supported by the departments of physics, didactics and history. With the help of the university, the scientific development of the exhibition is to be preserved. With this in mind, new stations are being developed at the Institute for Mathematical, Scientific and Technical Education. The Flensburg Phenomenta also cooperated several times on projects with the Mathematikum in Giessen .

The association is financed primarily through the entrance fees, membership fees and through the sale and rental of exhibits. As it is one of the older science centers in the world, it is not completely unknown as such. The exhibits that are created in the company's own workshop have meanwhile developed into a small export hit. The city also supports the association directly with 75,000 euros annually and also lends the building to it rent-free. Since 2016 there has been separate co-financing by the State of Schleswig-Holstein in the same amount. Thephenomenta is integrated into the teacher training, so university lecture series also take place there. Thephenomenta also serves the students as an educational practice field for teacher training. Students work there regularly and provide information on the experiment stations. The facility is also advertised by the city tourism agency. Road signs were put up. Thephenomenta also pays attention to project-related grant options. In 2016, for example, she received such a grant from the Klaus Tschira Foundation for the exhibition "Effect Show". Further funding takes place through sponsors . The main sponsors are the Nord-Ostsee Sparkasse and the Provinzial-Versicherung .

Phenomenta and Nordertor at night (2015)

Phenomenta Flensburg (2013)

entry

The facility opens Monday to Sunday from June to September, and the Phenomenta is closed on Mondays from October to May. Open on weekdays from 10 a.m. to 6 p.m. and on weekends from 12 p.m. to 6 p.m. Compared to other museums, the entrance fees are more in the higher range. The admission prices in 2017 were shown as follows. Children from 3 to 6 cost 3 euros. Children and young people up to the age of 16 pay an entrance fee of 8 euros. The same applies to students, trainees, 70% severely disabled people and social passport holders. Adults pay an entry price of 11.00 euros. Dogs are not allowed. In addition to these basic prices, there are also reduced admission prices for adult groups, 9 euros and for groups of children, 7 euros. A family consisting of two adults and two children under 16 pays 30 euros. The special "Zwergenphänomenta" for kindergarten children is only open Monday to Friday from 10 a.m. to 2 p.m. for registered groups only.

The entrance fees are therefore significantly higher compared to classic museums. Of the annual costs of one million euros, just under half can be covered by entrance fees. According to the Phenomenta boss Achim Englert in 2015, the entrance fees are too expensive, but cannot be reduced due to a lack of adequate cash inflows. Despite the cost problems, a cheap Mint annual ticket for Flensburg school classes has been implemented through sponsors since 2014 . In that year, 1,600 students received correspondingly discounted admissions. A completely free Phenomenta for all school classes in Flensburg and beyond, which the Phenomenta boss Achim Englert wanted, would require at least 300,000 euros of public subsidies and would therefore be utopian.

Web links

Phenomenta. The science center. In: www.phaenomenta-flensburg.de. Phenomenta eV, accessed on June 5, 2017 (German, Danish, official website).

Individual evidence

↑ ^a ^b ^c ^d ^e ^f ^g ^h ⁱ ^j ^k ^l Broder Schwensen in: Flexikon. 725 aha experiences from Flensburg !. Flensburg 2009, article :phenomenta

↑ ^a ^b ^c Phenomenta. The Science Center , accessed on: April 16, 2017

↑ ^a ^b ^c ^d Marsh and Fjord. Phenomenta , dated: August 7, 2001; Retrieved on: April 18, 2017

↑ Phenomenta. FAQs as well asphenomenta. The science center. From amazement to thought , accessed on: April 20, 2017

↑ ^a ^b Flensburger Tageblatt : Flensburgerphenomenta: From someone who set out to teach on the phenomenon , from: February 13, 2017; Retrieved on: April 23, 2017

^ Phenomenta Flensburg , dated: April 23, 2017

↑ ^a ^b ^c ^d ^e ^f ^g ^h ⁱ ^j ^k ^l ^m ⁿ NDR. 20 yearsphenomenta: Where physics is really fun , from: September 4th, 2015; Retrieved on: April 16, 2017

↑ ^a ^b ^c ^d ^e ^f ^g Flensburger Tageblatt : Science Center: The Phenomenta May Keep Growing , from: March 20, 2016; Retrieved on: April 20, 2017

↑ ^a ^b ^c European University of Flensburg. Thephenomenta - Discover the researcher in you !, Thephenomenta, teacher training and the European University of Flensburg , accessed on: April 20, 2017

↑ Phenomenta. The science center. From amazement to thought , accessed on: April 20, 2017

↑ ^a ^b ^c Flensburger Tageblatt : Opening: Brand new, big: Phenomenta , from March 15, 2008; Retrieved on: August 19, 2017

^ Science Center, Museum of Technology, Public Workshop "Public Understanding of Science" II 3rd Symposium on Museum Education in Technical Museums , Berlin 2003, page 11

↑ ^a ^b ^c ^d ^e Flensburger Tageblatt : Didactics and distinction: A medal for the inventor of the Phenomenta , from: February 14, 2017; Retrieved on: April 16, 2017

↑ Red Street. Tourismus Agentur Flensburger Förde (reference to the website of the Tourismus Agentur Flensburger Förde) andphenomenta Flensburg. Zwergenphänomenta (the Phenomenta on the website of the Flensburg Fjord Tourism Agency); Accessed on: April 19, 2017

↑ March and Fjord. Phenomenta and Whistle on Sunday , from: August 7, 2001; Retrieved on: April 18, 2017

↑ ^a ^b Hamburger Abendblatt : "Pfiff" in Flensburg , from: August 19, 2004; Retrieved on: April 17, 2017

↑ The event area is still listed as the only guided tour offer on the network page Museums Nord. The offer is no longer mentioned on the actual Phenomenta website; See Museums North. Phenomenta. Guides. , accessed April 17, 2017

↑ ^a ^b ^c Werner Fröhlich (ed.) And Maja Laumann (ed.): Education capital Flensburg .: A region is forming ... , Munich and Mering 2009, p. 362

↑ ^a ^b ^c Phenomenta Flensburg. History. A look back , accessed on: April 17, 2017

↑ ^a ^b ^c ^d ^e ^f ^g ^h ⁱ ^j Flensburger Tageblatt : Anniversary: 20 years of science in the Phenomenta , from: September 1, 2015; Retrieved on: April 15, 2017

↑ ^a ^b ^c ^d ^e ^f ^g ^h ⁱ ^j ^k Flensburger Tageblatt : 150 years of city history from a newspaper perspective Kiel / Hamburg 2016, p. 194.

^ Lutz Wilde : Monument topography Federal Republic of Germany, cultural monuments in Schleswig-Holstein. Volume 2, Flensburg, page 232 ff.

↑ ^a ^b ^c ^d ^e ^f Eiko Wenzel: Zeitzeichen, Architektur in Flensburg after 1945, p. 48

↑ ^a ^b ^c Flensburger Tageblatt : Phenomenta cultivation: "terrifying result" , from: March 10, 2008; Retrieved on: March 17, 2017

↑ ^a ^b New focus: Communication , from: May 20, 2003; Retrieved on: April 17, 2017

↑ Flensburger Tageblatt : phenomenta Flensburg: Wowereit and Stegner: Polit-Talk ohne Biss , from: April 3, 2017; Retrieved on: April 20, 2017

↑ ^a ^b ^c ^d ^e ^f Flensburger Tageblatt : Phenomenta: The secret of many birthdays , from: February 9, 2015; Retrieved on: April 23, 2017

↑ Flensburger Tageblatt : Minimum wage: Flensburg's employer under pressure to act , from: January 13, 2015; Retrieved on: April 20, 2017

↑ Flensburger Tageblatt : Didactics and distinction: A medal for the inventor of the Phenomenta , from: February 14, 2017 as well as the European University of Flensburg. Pioneer of science education ( page no longer available , search in web archives ) Info: The link was automatically marked as defective. Please check the link according to the instructions and then remove this notice. , dated: February 13, 2017; Accessed on: April 20, 2017@1@ 2

↑ Lutz Fiesser was apparently honored for his work on the phenomena. In addition to thephenomenta, he also became known through another project, namely the Uni-Kat Flensburg .