05.04.2011: Mainz University of Applied Sciences and Natural History Museum sign partnership agreement

Organizing a contemporary exhibition

Inter-institutional cooperation in the development of innovative communication concepts for exhibition projects and in researching the potential for 3D reconstruction of extinct life forms - these are at the heart of a new partnership agreement between the Natural History Museum of the city of Mainz and the Institute for Media Design at Mainz University of Applied Sciences (FH), signed by Marianne Grosse, Departmental Head, and Professor Gerhard Muth, the President of the University of Applied Sciences. This agreement raises the successfully begun cooperation from the level of project work conducted on a case-by-case basis to the level of an institutional partnership. This is supposed to facilitate the formal processes between the institutions, thus increasing the efficiency of the network.

"One of the aims of the major project 'Mainz - City of Science 2011' is to combine the city's and region's many centers of scientific expertise to form networks and thus provide synergy for the benefit of everyone," said Marianne Grosse, Department Head. "Within this context, long-term connections have been forged between Mainz University of Applied Sciences and the Natural History Museum - connections manifested in today's signing of the agreement."

Initial contacts were made in 2009, when the Institute for Media Design at Mainz University of Applied Sciences presented the exhibition "Star Window - Light from the Origins of the World" in cooperation with the Mainz Natural History Museum. This joint project was so successful that further projects, such as the "Diplomschau" exhibition, followed. Currently, the Natural History Museum and Mainz University of Applied Sciences are closely cooperating on three more exhibition projects, one research project and a visualization of the Rheingraben geodynamics as part of a scientific consultation.

The Natural History Museum is a place of research, scientific communication and education. The attractiveness and success of the institution depends to a great extent on the quality of the communication and educational work carried out by the museum. There have been recent developments in the potential for the communication of content, triggered by the very rapid development of electronic media. It is on this development that the Natural History Museum wishes to focus when designing new exhibitions, so that it will be able to offer an attractive, contemporary range of educational activities in the future.

"Developments in the field of electronic media require skills that do not fall within the normal scope of a natural history museum. These skills have been bundled at Mainz University of Applied Sciences. The partnership thus formed combines the strengths of both institutions for mutual benefit," emphasizes Professor Gerhard Muth, the President of the University of Applied Sciences, citing the benefits of this cooperation.

The Natural History Museum benefits from the development of innovative communication concepts. The Institute for Media Design, on the other hand, can test the viability of new developments in concrete applications and in a real environment. The resulting synergy is of particular benefit to visitors, who will explore this exciting, modern and very appealing way of conveying knowledge at the Mainz Natural History Museum.