GFZ German research centre for geo sciences

Minister Wanka as rainmaker - The GFZ Schoollab at the BMBF Open Day

Last weekend the GFZ Schoollab presented itself as one of five Helmholtz Schoollabs at the Open Day of the Federal Ministry of Education and Research. Numerous guests as well as the Federal Minister Johanna Wanka were impressed by the „Augmented Reality Sandbox“ that the GFZ Schoollab uses for digital terrain and water cycle modelling.

29.08.2016: Last weekend the <link medien-kommunikation angebote-fuer-schulen gfz-schuelerlabor>GFZ Schoollab presented itself as one of five Helmholtz Schoollabs at the Open Day of the Federal Ministry of Education and Research. Numerous guests as well as the Federal Minister Johanna Wanka were impressed by the „Augmented Reality Sandbox“ that the GFZ Schoollab uses for digital terrain and water cycle modelling.

The BMBF Open Day, from 27to 28 August in Berlin, was dedicated to the Science Year 2016*17 „Seas and Oceans“. The network of the Helmholtz Schoollabs participated with a joint booth presenting several topics on marine research. The Schoollabs demonstrated the strong link of education and research within the Helmholtz Association „Within our work at the Helmholtz Schoollabs we demonstrate to the pupils that come to us with their classes what it means to do geoscientific research. Like this we also want to bring practical ideas to the schools“, explains Manuela Lange, Head of Knowledge Transfer to Schools at the GFZ.

The visitors gained an illustrative insight into up-to-date research topics of the Helmholtz Centres. Like the pupils do at the Schoollabs, the visitors got to know about flow conditions between the Northern and the Baltic Seas with hands-on models, had access to an online platform that provides real time data on wave level, temperature, and salinity or dabbled in terrain modeling and rainmaking with the GFZ sandbox.

The GFZ Schoollab presented its Augmented Reality Sandbox that enabled the visitors to model mountains, riverbeds, lakes, and islands. The thereby formed terrain model is calculated by a connected computer and projected in real time on the sand surface. The Clou: By holding their hands above the model the users “produce” rain and thereby trigger events like crevasses or floods. Federal Minister Wanka also acted as “rainmaker” with the model. (ak)

>>More information on the BMBF Open Day

>>Network Helmholtz Schoollabs

>>GFZ Augmented Reality Sandbox

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