The Natural History Museum Vienna is now going on tour with a new e-bike on the topic of marine protection. The new coral wheel offers the opportunity to interactively develop stories about the exciting creatures in the ocean and present them as a stop-motion film. The coral wheel is used in parks and at neighborhood festivals and can be booked for school classes.
Narrative theater leads underwater
Inspired by the traditional Japanese street theater “Kamishibai” (a paper theater), “Jeanne 002” is a stage where the story of the marine forests is told in an interactive way. The narrative theater sits on the handlebars of the coral bike and, with the help of cranks, becomes an analogue, moving presentation format. It consists of two movable levels: a horizontal and a vertical track made of printed transparent film. This overlay of two directions of movement results in different narrative forms and narrative strands.
The content makes it clear that the gradual destruction of underwater forests affects humanity globally and – through the connection between climate change, pollution and fishing – also reaches a landlocked country like Austria and vice versa, that actions here in Austria contribute to the endangerment of marine ecosystems.
Learn independently and become active yourself
In the second part of the workshop, participants go on an independent exploration tour through the park, guided by a mobile web app. This guides you through the content step by step and includes the park as a living learning space. Varied content, interactive tasks, quiz questions and the use of various media support independent learning. The web app not only imparts knowledge, but also encourages you to become active, share opinions and make an active contribution.
In the creative section of the workshop, participants become storytellers themselves. They create vivid stories that communicate important messages about protecting and conserving marine habitats. With the help of stop-motion boxes that can be folded out of the bike, the stories become animated films.
For the NHM researchers, this is always the highlight of trips to the park, because the creativity ranges from dramaturgically sophisticated pieces about the rise and fall of destructive industries to crime stories of environmental polluters who are caught in the act… and of course hopeful stories of people helping to restore threatened marine ecosystems!
NHM Vienna “on tour”: Museum in the park – bicycle messengers of knowledge
“After “Ida 001”, the bike on the subject of light pollution and the natural night habitat, “Jeanne 002” is the second bike with which the NHM bicycle messengers of knowledge travel outside the museum. Multimedia and participatory stations invite you to take part in research (citizen science) and take part in social debates.”explains NHMGeneral Director Dr. Katrin Vohland the intention of the new mediation format.
In addition to teaching in the showrooms and temporary exhibitions, the NHM Vienna also conducts current basic and applied research in the various areas of earth sciences, life sciences and humanities. This makes the museum an important competence center for public issues and one of the largest non-university research institutions in Austria.
Not only the museum’s researchers, but also interested citizens make a significant contribution to science. These activities should be made even more accessible to the public. Active participation should bring research and society closer together and establish the museum itself as a mouthpiece and place for this exchange.
For all citizens for whom visiting the house on Maria-Theresien-Platz is not an option, the NHM Vienna goes “on tour”. The two mobile interactive and participatory stations bring research and society together outside of the museum setting.
The two bikes will be used at research festivals, events, trade fairs, in libraries, district centers, at neighborhood festivals, etc. Interaction and participation are made possible through the use of new technologies that enable playful and low-threshold access to complex social issues. Thematically relevant exhibits from the NHM Vienna’s large collections are also shown and provide a link to research in the museum.
The NHM coral wheel was developed in collaboration with the RESTORESEAS project together with the Ars Electronica Center Futurelab and the Inseq team. RESTORESEAS is an international project with the aim of protecting underwater forests on the coasts of the Atlantic using modern, nature-based, scientific methods and strengthening their resilience to human intervention.
The bike’s namesake is Jeanne Villepreux-Power (1794-1871)a pioneer in marine biology who was the first to use aquariums to study marine life. This enabled her to, among other things, conduct groundbreaking research into the intelligence of octopuses.
The NHM Coral Wheel is available for booking every morning from Tuesday to Thursday in a Viennese park of your choice: 3rd, 4th, 5th, 10th, 11th, 12th, 17th, 18th. , September 19th, 24th, 25th and 26th, 2024 and can be booked by school classes and children’s groups on Tel. + 43 1 52177 335.
See also:
https://www.restoreseas.net/blog/2023/12/meet-jeanne-the-marine-forest-restoration-ebike/ with explanatory video about the bike (in English): https://youtu.be/U9t3b0N1zek?si =3oQGzNqHLB_j54rn
Credits:
Naturhistorisches Museum Wien / RESTORESEAS: Pedro Frade, Maria Pinto, Iris Ott
Ars Electronica Futurelab: Susanne Kiesenhofer, Stefan Mittlböck-Jungwirth-Fohringer
Inseq Design: Jakob Illera
The NHM electric cargo bike “Ida 001” on the theme of the natural night habitat, named after Ida Pfeifer (1797-1858)the first Austrian world traveler of the Biedermeier period, explains that light pollution not only has negative effects on the well-being and health of city dwellers, but on all living beings. Night is increasingly turning into day, especially in and around large cities like Vienna. In recent years, the brightness of the night sky over Vienna has more than doubled due to misdirected light from artificial lighting.
Details for booking the bikes:
https://www.nhm-wien.ac.at/fuehrungen__aktivitaeten/schulen__horte/nhm_wien_zu_besuch_in_schulen
The plan is to further expand the NHM bicycle fleet of knowledge and make it available to the public free of charge with the help of sponsors.
Scientific project: RESTORESEAS
https://www.restoreseas.net/
Scientific inquiry note
Dr. Pedro Rodrigues Frade
Research assistant, 3rd Zoological Department, NHM Vienna
https://www.nhm-wien.ac.at/pedro_frade
Phone: +43 1 52177 DW 329
pedro.frade@nhm.at