by Minh Tran

Created on: October 22, 2010

Klimahaus ("Climate House") is a new addition to the line of hi-tech museums in Bremerhaven, Germany. As the name suggests, the museum focuses on climate and its interactions with human life. The topic is executed through emulating a trip along the longitude 8 degree east (which passes through Bremerhaven and the museum itself) and hence through major climate types on Earth. Interestingly, this trip was actually done by the staff of the museum. At each climate zone, local people are interviewed about their ways of life, especially how they cope with the environment around them. In addition to the "travelling", there is a mini science center which illustrates how water, air, earth and heat interact and form meteorological phenomena.

As stated above, the highlight of Klimahaus is the "8 degree east" travel and the effort the museum put into it is impressive. Besides the actual travelling and its associated risks, the climate zones are replicated as faithfully as possible down to unseen factors like temperature, dampness and flow of air. The "roleplaying" is further aided by video and audio recordings from the field combined with physical factors like replica of the local train or sandy floor of the desert. There are also artifacts from the actual sites and memorials like sketches and notes made by the staff in the trip as well as little games visitors can play. All these factors combined create a very enjoyable visit. Although the idea of a trip around the world is not new, using the 8 degree east longitude as the unifying element linking the sites is certainly an interesting idea. That imaginary line creates a sense of commonality between the museum where the visitors are currently in and those far-away places, making what presented becomes much more personal. The recorded direct interactions with local people is also very effective in sustaining the impression. Thus, the visit is "interactive" in both physical and emotional sense. Moreover, the story told here is not just nature or local culture but the interactions between them. It seems that most of what being displayed are more or less romanticized, but sombre issues like hardships of unfavourable environments and change in ways of life under the pressure of urbanization/industrialization are mentioned.

The meteorology center is somewhat pale in comparison with the 8 degree east trip. However, it is nice by itself if one enjoys tinkering in the laboratory at school. The place seems to be aimed at children visiting the museum as it is filled with simple, game-like experiments about how air, water, heat or earth behave.  

The Klimahaus was introduced when the climate change became a hot topic and the timing is hardly coincidental. A major message throughout the visit is how important the Earth is to human and the consequences of climate change. As an educational device about types of climate in the world and how humans interact with them, the Klimahaus is executed excellently. However, the pro-environment message can be dampened by the irony of the energy and resources required to maintain the elaborate climate emulation display, as well as how little the museum actually blend in with its own surrounding environment. On the other hand, the Klimahaus is still a work well done as a place to get information through experience.     

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