Museums - The Ocean and Us
34 Meters long, 7.5 Meters wide and 13 Meters tall: a research vessel installation with an impressive size is the centerpiece of a new permanent exhibition at the German Maritime Museum in Bremerhaven. "Visitors can embark on their own expedition," said Museum Director Ruth Schilling.
Visitors can stand at the helm station
Approximately, the working deck of a research vessel from which working equipment is launched, the cargo hold, a lab, or even a private cabin are experiences visitors can have. "This allows visitors to experience sailing, researching, and living," explained Niels Hollmeier, one of the curators.
At the top of the installation, visitors can enter the steering station. On a virtual chart ship, they can follow the routes of historical and current polar expeditions.
The exhibition "Shipworlds – The Ocean and Us" with over 2,000 exhibits is open to the public from Thursday.
The show designed by the Berlin scenography bureau "chezweitz" in the light-flooded Bangert-Bau of the museum offers insights into the themes of modern shipbuilding, ship equipment, physics of the sea, and the impact of ships on the environment. For example, the pollution of the seas by plastic is addressed.
"Who owns the resources of the sea?"
A part of the exhibition deals with the "dark history" of shipping, said Schilling. A harpoon cannon from 1889 is on display, which simplified the killing of whales.
Even in the 20th century, whaling was done for the production of oils, margarine, and soap, said Sven Bergmann, scientific staff at the Maritime Museum. Above the thematic area hovers the skeleton of a sperm whale.
"A large part deals with the topic: Who owns the resources of the sea?" said Bergmann. Models of fish steamers to modern supertrawlers, which are referred to as "fishing monsters" by the German Foundation for Seas Protection, are on display.
Documentation of the dismantling of economically operated ships is also shown. Due to stricter environmental and labor standards in Europe and the USA, the shipbreaking industry has been moved to countries with less stringent regulations.
The history of modern shipbuilding and research shipping stands in contrast, emphasized Schilling: "Research is our hope, so that we can handle the oceans better in the future."
Expenditures of over 40 million Euros
The show is located in the recently renovated so-called Bangert-Bau of the museum, which was closed for two years. Together with the 2021 completed research depot, 43 million Euros were spent on the renovation and redesign.
In 2017, the Kogge Hall of the museum was already modernized. In it stands the wreck of a merchant ship from the Middle Ages.
Next, the run-down main building of the museum, the so-called Scharoun-Bau, needs to be renovated. The costs for the further measures are reportedly 46 million Euros. However, there is still no funding commitment from the federal government, said the commercial manager of the museum, Matthias Templin.
Up to 100,000 visitors a year are expected to return.
The Maritime Museum is one of eight Leibniz Research Museums in Germany, it was opened in 1975. To its establishment belong also six historical ships in the museum harbor and three more, which are on land. Some of them are accessible to visitors.
Although only a large part of the exhibition area had been closed, 40,000 visitors had been counted per year, Schilling said. The museum aims to reach a number of up to 100,000 visitors in the future.
- The new exhibition at the German Maritime Museum in Bremerhaven, titled "Shipworlds – The Ocean and Us," includes a section dedicated to the impact of ships on ecology, addressing issues like ocean pollution caused by plastic.
- As part of the exhibition, visitors can learn about modern shipbuilding and the physics of the sea through various interactive exhibits.
- In addition to the research vessel installation, the museum features a section on the history of shipbuilding, including historical artifacts like a harpoon cannon used for whaling.
- The exhibition highlights the role of shipping in the exploitation of ocean resources, with models of fish steamers and supertrawlers on display.
- The exhibit also includes documentation of the dismantling of economically operated ships, which has been shifted to countries with less stringent environmental and labor regulations, due to stricter standards in Europe and the USA.
