This post is about my favourite science museum, but also a place that is so fascinating and beautiful, it can always bring me to tears and has in the past fundamentally shaped my view on the world.
During my third visit very recently, I was lucky enough to bring my witch along and show to her the place that is the main reason why I at the age of 29 still don‘t have a driver‘s license, got used to hours and or even days long train rides instead of flights, and have a reusable cup for every drink I would probably like to get on my way to work: This post is anout the „Klimahaus“ (climate museum) in Bremerhaven.
Bremerhaven is probably not well known to many of my readers. It is a medium sized city in the north of Germany, belonging to the state but not the city of Bremen. I have to admit that the only reason why I ever traveled there was to visit the „Klimhaus“, although the old habour city has a lot of interesting sights, since its museums cover seafaring as well as migration to the new world.
A special place
The museum we‘re looking at today is located next to the river called Weser, connecting Bremerhaven to the rest of the world. The building, which is the flat one on the header image of this post, was designed to have a high energy efficiency. The design was actually inspired by termite constructions. It can regulate its own temperature through air circulation. This is one of the reasons why the „Klimahaus“ has an CO2-output that is almost zero.
I have been waiting for them to sell the building construction as a poster, but so far I seem to be the only one who would put that up in the living room.
The exhibition
The „Klimahaus“ is a very interactive museum. I decided not to put any photos of the inside of the museum in this post, because I don’t want to spoul the experience. Everything I will write here is just a teaser to catch your interest.
It invites visitors to travel along the longitude 8° degree east, that runs through Bremerhaven. On that journey, every climate zone on earth can be covered. The makers of the exhibition traveled that route, explored nature, culture and people, and created a very interactive experience.
So interactive, it really is a challenge at times.
After starting the trip, the visitors have to follow through. There is no exit, no separated rooms people can look into and leave. You have to follow the route and travel from one place to the other. On your way, you can listen to interview with all kinds of people. You can read about specific travel experiences, watch video material, or read travel reports. You can also read about the specific ecosystems. You can learn with what kind of winds the people of Sardinia have to deal when putting up laundry, or what kind of function certain beetles have to humans living in the Sahara desert. You can understand the butterfly effect within earths atmosphere, or enter the simulation of a hurricane. I loved to relax in the hottest place, the room dedicated to the Sahara desert, and watch a film about people living in Niger. I also got lost in the rain forest of Cameroon at night, and I am in love with the south pole!
But for a more structured overview, here is a list of the places you get to know along the way:
Bremerhaven
Switzerland
Sardinia
Niger
Camerun
South Pole
Alaska
Samoa
The ocean
Northern Germany (the part affected by the tides)
The only chance to take a break is after Cameroon. Before continuing to the south pole adventure, there is the opportunity to go to the toilet, and have a snack in a restaurant that looks like a ship taking you far south.
I did not only had my witch with me the last time I went, I also had my mother there with me. She did not know what to expect, and was exhausted after we had gotten lost in the rain forest, so the break was needed. And the atmosphere on that ship is full of excitement!
This museum is so great, because it is not simply informative, but an aesthetic and emotional experience. I love to sit down in every room and listen and read a lot, but even if that is too much for a visitor, the images, the music, the smell, and everything else is just so beautiful to enjoy! Whenever I am there, I am in complete admiration of the earth we live on, and the way humans adapt and live. It is so beautiful, I want to cry.
Climate crisis
Once the journey is finished, a few hours have passed, and every visitor is probably exhausted, but there actually is more to see. There is another exhibition dealing with the climate crisis. It attempts to explain the connection of human activities and climate changes and deals with future scenarios for the places just visited. I enjoy that part very much as well, although it makes me want to punch certain people in the face (not naming them because I don‘t think I actually could, but the feeling counts). Taking my mother there however, I realized that it counts on an emotional response a lot, and sometimes does not provide all the facts of interest. I had trouble explaining to my mother how we know that it rained for several thousand years in the early stages of our planet (since this is not my specialty as science teacher). I think I managed though.
Please vitis!
All in all, I would recommend for anyone who can to visit the „Klimahaus“ at least once. It will be emotionally overwhelming, aesthetically super exciting, and going back to the real world will probably be tougher than expected, but it is a most beautiful place.
And one to fall in love with earth. When I was 16 years old, I visited for the first time, and was so impressed as well as in horror about the message it conveyed, I swore to myself to never drive a car and never fly if I don‘t have to. I wanted to keep my impact on this world as small as possible, because I found it so wonderful to be here.
I cannot discuss in this post how I think about these personal-choice-models of environmental protection, although I can tell you that my opinion changed a little bit.
I still appreciate the impact this place had on me, and I have the hope that it will shape another generation and our future.
Mistress witch writes 