Årsberetning 2007 - Experimentarium

intEllECtual Capital statEmEnt 2007
The essence is communication
the Experimentarium has changed its strategy in the last couple of
years, much to the gratification of §4 in the foundation’s articles of
association! While our core work for many years was the development
and presentation of new exhibitions, our vision has now become even
bolder: the Experimentarium science Centre must maintain its ranking
among Denmark’s most visited destinations while also undertaking the
task of disseminating knowledge about natural science and technology
and using all possible media in order to generate interest in the
fantastic world of natural science and technology.
the objective can be illustrated as a small, primitively drawn flower
in which the plant with its ovary, petals, stem and nourishment works
together synergistically.
In 2007 Experimentarium staged 3 large festivals: A Soap Bubble
Festival, a Mushroom Festival and last but not least, a fabulous
Fireworks Festival.
the heart of this small flower is the objective of the foundation itself:
to disseminate knowledge about natural science and technology to
as large a segment of the population as possible – with special focus
on young people. and this objective is held securely in place by seven
petals. one petal represents “exhibitions and pilot activities”. this is
the core purpose of the Experimentarium. until the future addition is
completed, we will show two special exhibitions each year and provide
a number of additional activities aimed primarily towards children and
young people to promote knowledge in the field of natural science.
one petal represents “educational resources” while another represents
“school activities”, where some of the most popular educational
activities such as “rescue team for a Day” are loaded into a semitrailer
and taken around the country to teach students about first aid
and artificial respiration. but the petal also represents the constant
development of educational materials on the Experimentarium web
site aimed at teachers and students before, during and after their visit
to the science Centre on tuborg Havnevej. the Experimentarium has
contact teachers at 1,300 schools and 185 schools have memberships,
meaning that 80,000 students and their teachers enjoy free admission
to the Experimentarium on all school days. this has resulted in 60,000
school visits per year.
one of the flower’s petals represents our ability to offer “educational
programmes for teachers and students”. one of these includes a
new experimental project supported by the lundbeck Foundation.
the primary purpose of the project is to train a large number of
teachers using the experiment as the tool to generate understanding
and enthusiasm among students. but the purpose flower also has
petals representing “news coverage” and the Experimentarium’s
new “tV studio and ongoing work with virtual reality”. the ambition
to initiate news coverage has been realized with the hiring of two
science journalists with access to columns in publications such as
Weekendavisen and other newspapers. the news coverage unit has
also entered into a formal agreement on the project on the research
portal videnskab.dk, initiated by the Danish ministry of science,
technology and innovation.
and finally, there is a petal reserved for “research into education in
informal environments”.
the flower’s stem is the gateway from which flows the admissions
income upwards to the ovary and petals. last year, DKK 26 million was
earned from admissions alone. and beaming down on the flower and
providing it with additional sustenance is the sun, as represented by a
wide number of generous Danish foundations, which ensure financing
for many of the Experimentarium’s projects.
the image is completed by the flower radiating its dissemination of
knowledge about natural science and technology across the country (to
as large a segment of the population as possible – with special focus
on young people!).
Keeping the flame of curiosity alive
the intellectual capital statement is an amalgam of figures, tables,
records and ratings. Executive Director asger Høeg takes great
personal pleasure in reviewing statistics lists including those stating
the number of visitors, which are prepared both daily and monthly. He
can draw a wide range of conclusions from those figures and use them
to advantage in planning future projects and exhibitions.
the figures reveal interesting and fun facts, showing that a relatively
small-scale exhibition such as Crashbang Driving school, which was
made possible through the partnership of the Danish road safety
Council and the municipality of Herning in Denmark, attracted a
surprisingly high number of visitors.
“the theme of the exhibition is something that affects us all. We
are fascinated with speed and the ‘live fast’ philosophy, but we still
maintain respect for the consequences of those actions. i think that the
theme and title of the exhibition as well as its structure, which allows
visitors an in-depth look at the personal stories of road traffic victims,
have all played a role in making Crashbang Driving school so popular
with visitors. it meets all the requirements of a good exhibition in that
it offers a good story as well as the educational aspect – but without
the lectures,” explains asger Høeg.
Visitor numbers at the Experimentarium peak in weeks 7 and 8 during
the school winter holidays, and again in weeks 28-30 (industrial
holiday season) and week 42 during the school autumn holidays. this
is traditionally the period when the large annual exhibitions open –
exhibitions that are driven by messages and curiosity.