Thursday, December 5, 2024 is International World Soil Day – and in the Natural History Museum from 10:15 a.m. to 9:00 p.m. everything revolves around the valuable resource soil. Among other things, there is a research station “Getting to know soil animals” in the special exhibition, and in the laboratory area on Deck 50, soil creatures are excavated and examined under the microscope. The live micro-theater shows the living ground animals in an impressive enlargement on the huge LED wall.
A special highlight is the Virtual Life station, which travels from Innsbruck to Vienna exclusively for this day: visitors can visit our soil virtually and in real life and explore life in the soil using virtual reality glasses and microscopes. A reading for children (ages 5 and up) and special tours of the current floor exhibition “The Thin Skin of the Earth” round off the day for young and old.
“International World Soil Day is also a welcome opportunity for the Natural History Museum Vienna to draw greater attention to the topic of soil. The ground beneath our feet is alive! But very few people know about the living creatures under the earth and their immense number.”says NHM Vienna General Director Katrin Vohland.
„Soil gives life and, like water and air, is an indispensable resource for life. With our current special exhibition “Our soils – the thin skin of the earth” we have already brought topics such as soil formation, soil diversity and soil research into focus for our guests. “With today’s supporting program, the soil issue and problems will once again be taken up and illuminated.”said the General Director.
At 6:00 p.m. Katrin Vohland officially opens the evening program of the International World Soil Day and is particularly looking forward to the award-winning film “In the kingdom of the earthworm” (from 6.20 p.m.) and the following Panel discussion (from 7.40 p.m.) with renowned environmental and soil experts.
Thomas Peham (State of Tyrol)
Barbara Birli (Umweltbundesamt)
Nicolas Stohandl (ÖBG)
Suzanne Kapelari (University of Innsbruck)
Andreas Kroh (Deputy Scientific Director, NHM Vienna)
The event will be moderated by Andreas Hantschk (Science Communication Department, NHM Vienna), who is also co-curator of the special exhibition from the Senckenberg Museum für Naturkunde Görlitz. “It is incredibly important to continually draw attention to the central “soil resource” and to create public awareness of it. We are losing fertile soil every day, even though our entire culture is outgrowing the soil.”Andreas Hantschk summarizes the aim of the event.
The program for international World Soil Day in detail:
Get to know soil animals at the research station
Peter Sziemer (Science Communication Department)
Room 21, 11:00 a.m. to 5:00 p.m
The thin skin of the earth – our soils
Guided tour of the special exhibition
Room 21, 1:00 p.m. and 3:00 p.m
The special exhibition at the Senckenberg Museum für Naturkunde Görlitz tells of biodiversity and the coexistence of organisms in the soil, their services in a complex ecosystem as well as soil formation, soil diversity, soil research and the destruction of fertile soils. A special attraction are lifelike, detailed models of small creatures in our soil, such as predatory mites and pseudoscorpions.
Research station Virtual Life:
a virtual and real visit to our soil
Alexander Lichius (University of Innsbruck)
At this station you can explore life in the ground using virtual reality glasses and microscopes.
Room 23, 11:00 a.m. to 5:00 p.m
Open Deck 50: Life in the Ground
In the laboratory area, soil organisms are dug up and examined under the microscope. The live micro-theater shows the living soil animals in an impressive enlargement on an LED wall.
In the creative field, we create an “infinite earth” together.
Deck 50, 10:15 a.m. to 2:00 p.m. and 3:00 p.m. to 5:00 p.m
EARTH. Stories to dig and discover
The author Susanne Orosz reads stories about children who have adventures with earth, on and under the earth.
Deck 50, 2:00 p.m. to 3:00 p.m
Evening program
6:00 p.m – Welcome
Katrin Vohland (General Director NHM Vienna) and Nicolas Stohandl (Austrian Soil Science Society – ÖBG)
6:20 p.m – Film screening: In the kingdom of the earthworm (director: Anna Pflüger, 2022 I 53 minutes)
https://www.deutscher-naturfilm.de/filmdatenbank/filmdetails/im-reich-des-regenwurms
7:15 p.m – 10 years of the Soil Film Festival in Innsbruck
Thomas Peham (State of Tyrol)
7:30 p.m. Forest floor – soil of the year 2024
Activities to raise awareness of the soil science societies of Austria, Germany and Switzerland
Ernst Leitgeb (Federal Research Center for Forests – BFW)
7:40 p.m – Panel discussion “Aware of the soil”
Thomas Peham (State of Tyrol)
Barbara Birli (Umweltbundesamt)
Nicolas Stohandl (ÖBG)
Suzanne Kapelari (University of Innsbruck)
Andreas Kroh (Deputy Scientific Director, NHM Vienna)
Moderation: Andreas Hantschk (NHM Vienna)
Following the panel discussion, bread and wine ensure a relaxed end to World Soil Day.
International World Soil Day at the NHM Vienna
Datum: 05.12.2024
Ort: Natural History Museum Vienna
Maria Theresa Square
1010 Wien
Austria
URL: https://www.nhm-wien.ac.at/veranstaltungskalender/weltbodentag_am_nhm_wien_1