Pressemitteilung
08.02.2018
Connecting Elements – The Nobel Prize in Chemistry
Nobel Museum zeigt Ausstellung in Dubai
Examine, explore and experience the world of elements: The exhibition entitled "Connecting Elements – The Nobel Prize in Chemistry" can be viewed until 3 March in Dubai’s City Walk. The bilingual travelling exhibition (English and Arabic) was designed by ATELIER BRÜCKNER. It is aimed at children and adolescents, enabling them to playfully immerse themselves in the fascinating world of chemistry while getting to know the Nobel Prize Laureates in this discipline with their groundbreaking research results.
The guiding theme of the exhibition consists of elements – components of life and components of the world, which the young people can explore in a multitude of different ways. In the exhibition, they enter four research areas, designed with coloured, cuboid modules that open up a space for different hands-on and media stations. Integrated in each area is a laureates table, which the young people can activate by means of cubes with RFID technology. In this way, they gain access to the careers of the relevant recipients of the Nobel Prize in Chemistry, at the same time discovering personal histories and surprising coincidences.
The inspiration for each research area is a scientist, who is portrayed and introduced in a large-format film. The screens are opposite the laureates tables and thus frame an area in which the young people themselves can experiment. In the "Chemistry of Life" section, they familiarise themselves with the American chemical scientist Melvin Calvin and find out all they want to know about photosynthesis with reference to aquatic plants. In the "Elements" area, they meet Marie Curie, who discovered radium and polonium, and explore a memorable, three-dimensional periodic table: selected materials, poured into acrylic glass cubes, vividly present chemical elements such as zinc chippings that stand for the element Zn 30 and magnesium Mg 12 as solid material. In the "Molecules & Structures" area, the biochemist Dorothy Crowfoot Hodgkin takes the young people by the hand. She was awarded the Nobel Prize for her analysis of the structure of vitamin B12 in 1964, while in the "Chemical Reactions" section, the focus is on the Egyptian Nobel Prize winner Ahmed Zewail. A copy of his experimental set-up demonstrates the principles he researched and fascinates the visitor with the laser technology that he used to photographically record molecular vibrations in the femtosecond range.
Coloured aerosol spray cans and fertilizer pellets are among the exhibits in the area of the exhibition entitled "Chemistry Changing the World". It shows the influence of research results on our everyday life and on our environment. The steles and desk elements placed freely in the space utilise the colours of the main themes to which they are each related. Descriptive information graphics, printed and in media form, depict the contents, for example the effects of fertilizer production on agriculture and the use of plastic in the toy manufacturing and packaging industries.
And how is it possible to become a Nobel Laureate? The exhibition paves the way. In the prologue area, which serves as a general introduction to the Nobel Prize, the young people are given a stamping card that accompanies them on their individually selected route through the exhibition. At five different stamping stations, they graphically supplement the molecule on their card. In this way they decide on the type of researcher they want to be and a focal point of research – the basis of a personalised document. Now, nothing stands in the way of a photo of them at the award ceremony in Stockholm. After the molecule has been scanned in the photo station, the photo is taken in front of a green screen and sent to the young person's home by e-mail. The visit to the exhibition is thus remembered long afterwards.
The exhibition encourages young people to take an interest in the natural sciences and to become researchers themselves. This is part of a long-term cooperation between the Nobel Museum Stockholm and the Mohammed bin Rashid Al Maktoum Foundation. Last year, the exhibition entitled "Understanding Matter – The Nobel Prize in Physics" was on display in the Children's City, Dubai. In 2016, "Exploring Life – The Nobel Prize in Physiology or Medicine" was shown there – both exhibitions also designed by ATELIER BRÜCKNER.
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Connecting Elements – The Nobel Prize in Chemistry: "Chemistry Changing the World", Photo: Daniel Stauch
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Connecting Elements – The Nobel Prize in Chemistry: Body Scanner, Photo: Daniel Stauch
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Connecting Elements – The Nobel Prize in Chemistry: Prologue, Photo: Daniel Stauch
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Connecting Elements – The Nobel Prize in Chemistry: Periodic Table, Photo: Daniel Stauch
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Connecting Elements – The Nobel Prize in Chemistry: Welcome, Photo: Daniel Stauch