With the current exhibition "Fascination of Diversity" the Senckenberg Nature Museum is currently celebrating a great success. The diversity wall with 1,138 geological and biological objects has now been extended until 13 January 2019 due to the unbroken high demand.
The exhibition provides a good overview of the diversity of the Senckenberg Gesellschaft für Naturforschung's collection. However, this cross-section is only a small part of the collection, which comprises around 40 million objects from 200 years of research history. At 15 meters long and 4 meters high, the show presents 1,138 biological and geological objects in a huge wall display case: from tiny beetles to fascinating fossils, dazzling birds and glittering minerals to a stately okapi bull. Here, animals, fossils and plants that would never have met in time or space come face to face. In addition to this presentation, visitors can call up more detailed information on the objects at two digital stations and thus learn more about "geobiodiversity research" at Senckenberg. At a media table, there is the possibility to play through research assignments on the wall objects with or against each other.
The occasion for putting together the wall showcase was the 200th anniversary of the Senckenberg Gesellschaft für Naturforschung last year. Today, Senckenberg scientists around the world explore the diversity of inanimate and animate nature in order to understand the Earth as a whole. To this end, they have been collecting and preserving biological and geological objects for over 200 years. The scientific collections form the elementary basis of their research. Each of the eleven institutes has contributed objects - from a leaping tiger from Dresden, a praying mantis from Müncheberg, manganese nodules from Wilhelmshaven, a hand axe from Tübingen to a beach grass carnation from Görlitz.
The exhibition generates enthusiasm for the diversity and beauty of nature and is very popular with museum visitors. Senckenberg's employees have also grown fond of it. Many have their favourite object in the wall and get into conversation with each other or with visitors about their respective fields of research. The diverse program of the Education and Outreach Department around the exhibition also remains unbroken: 25 events have been offered so far, with 553 people attending.
But visitors who visit the exhibition without a museum tour can also engage with the objects and research. A second, digital level has been set up in the exhibition, allowing viewers to delve deeper into the subject matter and learn more about the individual objects, their interconnections with each other, and the research behind them. The interplay between original exhibits, photos specially made for the exhibition and compactly presented information creates space for search and exploration games. In addition, there is a play station in the exhibition area with research drones on a digital map. Families and groups of children and young people can choose research tasks here and test and expand their knowledge of the exhibits on the biodiversity wall.
"Fascination of Diversity" extended and on view until 13 January 2019 at the Senckenberg Naturmuseum Frankfurt, 2nd floor, Wolfgang-Steubing-Saal. The exhibition can only be visited in conjunction with the permanent exhibition: 10 euros for adults, 5 euros for children and young people (6 - 15 years) and 25 euros for families (2 adults and up to 3 children).
More info can also be found at: <link http: www.senckenberg.de _blank>Www.senckenberg.de/
