PrintPress Archive
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2007/05/18
A Landmark from the Land of Ideas Travels Abroad
Johannesburg/Berlin, 18 May 2007: The opening ceremony for the Science Tunnel science exhibition was held on May 18, 2007 at the Sci-Bono Science Centre in Johannesburg, South Africa.
The Max Planck Society invites Science Tunnel visitors on a fascinating journey through the mysteries of our world, presenting an insight into advanced research and the latest scientific insights with over hundreds pictures, several films, and dozens of exhibits. The “Germany – Land of Ideas” initiative had conferred the title “Landmark 2007” on the travelling exhibition earlier this year at its presentation in Dresden.
The official opening of the Science Tunnel in Johannesburg was attended by South Africa’s Minister for Science and Technology Mosibudi Mangena and Prof. Reinhard Zimmermann, MPG Chairman of Humanities and the Social Sciences and a Director at the Max Planck Institute for Comparative and International Private Law. In his speech, Prof. Zimmermann emphasised the goals of the Science Tunnel: “Here, visitors can experience for themselves the thrill of entering unknown territory. We seek to inspire young people in particular for international research, as they are tomorrow’s scientists, without whom our society would face a bleak future”
Mangena underscored the importance of the exhibition for South Africa: “The Max Planck Science Tunnel is arguably the world’s greatest travelling science exhibition in our time. South Africa is delighted and honoured to host this giant exhibition through which all of us can gain an insight into what scientists the world over, including South Africans, do to develop and advance the whole of humanity through science and technology”.
The guest of honour at the opening was Prof. Theodor W. Hänsch, Nobel laureate and Director of the Max Planck Institute for Quantum Optics in Garching, who gave a lecture on “A Passion for Precision.”
Under the heading “Research in Germany – Land of Ideas,” the “Germany – Land of Ideas” nation-branding initiative added an extra module to the exhibition, with the idea of highlighting the qualities and opportunities that set Germany apart as a place of research.
The initiative thus placed a special greeting from Germany at the entrance to the exhibition: a smaller version of a sculpture entitled “The Contemporary Football Boot” to celebrate the invention of cleats by Adi Dassler in 1954. The original-size sculpture was part of the “Walk of Ideas,” six outsize sculptures that symbolised the land of ideas and inventions in Berlin in the summer of the 2006 Football World Cup. The sculpture also symbolises the passing of the good spirit of the past World Cup to South Africa, which will host this major sports event in 2010.
The exposition is supported by the Department of Science and Technology, the Sci-Bono Science Centre from South Africa and the Federal Ministry of Education and Sciences from Germany.
Further information about the Science Tunnel may be requested from:
Max Planck Society
Dr. Andreas Trepte “Science Tunnel” Project Manager
Phone: +49 89 21081238
E-mail: trepte@gv.mpg.de
www.sciencetunnel.de
About the Max Planck Society
The Max Planck Society (MPG) is Germany’s most important organisation for basic research. It consists of 78 institutes and has roughly 12,200 employees, including some 4,100 scientists. Apart from this, more than 10,000 aspiring and visiting scientists work in the institutes. Its annual budget, €1.332 billion in 2005, is largely financed with public funds. The MPG aims to produce international peak performance in especially innovative fields of research. Accordingly, its institutes keep turning their focus to new fields in the natural and biological sciences, as well as the humanities and social sciences. The MPG is regarded as one of the world’s top research organisations. Further information is posted on the Internet at www.mpg.de
About “Germany - Land of Ideas”
“Germany – Land of Ideas“ is a joint nation-branding initiative of the Federal Government and German industry, represented by the Federation of German Industries (BDI). The aim of the initiative is to portray Germany, at home and abroad, as an innovative, cosmopolitan and enthusiastic country. The patron of the initiative is the German President Horst Köhler. The “Germany – Land of Ideas” initiative is funded by the “Deutschland – Land der Ideen e.V.” society. It realises various core projects: the event programme – “365 Landmarks in the Land of Ideas”, international media service and the FanClub. In collaboration with the federal location marketing agency, the initiative also realises – supported by the Federal Ministry of Economy and Technology – the campaign “Invest in Germany – Land of Ideas” to promote Germany as a business location.
You can obtain more information on the “Germany – Land of Ideas” initiative at www.land-of-ideas.org.
The official opening of the Science Tunnel in Johannesburg was attended by South Africa’s Minister for Science and Technology Mosibudi Mangena and Prof. Reinhard Zimmermann, MPG Chairman of Humanities and the Social Sciences and a Director at the Max Planck Institute for Comparative and International Private Law. In his speech, Prof. Zimmermann emphasised the goals of the Science Tunnel: “Here, visitors can experience for themselves the thrill of entering unknown territory. We seek to inspire young people in particular for international research, as they are tomorrow’s scientists, without whom our society would face a bleak future”
Mangena underscored the importance of the exhibition for South Africa: “The Max Planck Science Tunnel is arguably the world’s greatest travelling science exhibition in our time. South Africa is delighted and honoured to host this giant exhibition through which all of us can gain an insight into what scientists the world over, including South Africans, do to develop and advance the whole of humanity through science and technology”.
The guest of honour at the opening was Prof. Theodor W. Hänsch, Nobel laureate and Director of the Max Planck Institute for Quantum Optics in Garching, who gave a lecture on “A Passion for Precision.”
Under the heading “Research in Germany – Land of Ideas,” the “Germany – Land of Ideas” nation-branding initiative added an extra module to the exhibition, with the idea of highlighting the qualities and opportunities that set Germany apart as a place of research.
The initiative thus placed a special greeting from Germany at the entrance to the exhibition: a smaller version of a sculpture entitled “The Contemporary Football Boot” to celebrate the invention of cleats by Adi Dassler in 1954. The original-size sculpture was part of the “Walk of Ideas,” six outsize sculptures that symbolised the land of ideas and inventions in Berlin in the summer of the 2006 Football World Cup. The sculpture also symbolises the passing of the good spirit of the past World Cup to South Africa, which will host this major sports event in 2010.
The exposition is supported by the Department of Science and Technology, the Sci-Bono Science Centre from South Africa and the Federal Ministry of Education and Sciences from Germany.
Further information about the Science Tunnel may be requested from:
Max Planck Society
Dr. Andreas Trepte “Science Tunnel” Project Manager
Phone: +49 89 21081238
E-mail: trepte@gv.mpg.de
www.sciencetunnel.de
About the Max Planck Society
The Max Planck Society (MPG) is Germany’s most important organisation for basic research. It consists of 78 institutes and has roughly 12,200 employees, including some 4,100 scientists. Apart from this, more than 10,000 aspiring and visiting scientists work in the institutes. Its annual budget, €1.332 billion in 2005, is largely financed with public funds. The MPG aims to produce international peak performance in especially innovative fields of research. Accordingly, its institutes keep turning their focus to new fields in the natural and biological sciences, as well as the humanities and social sciences. The MPG is regarded as one of the world’s top research organisations. Further information is posted on the Internet at www.mpg.de
About “Germany - Land of Ideas”
“Germany – Land of Ideas“ is a joint nation-branding initiative of the Federal Government and German industry, represented by the Federation of German Industries (BDI). The aim of the initiative is to portray Germany, at home and abroad, as an innovative, cosmopolitan and enthusiastic country. The patron of the initiative is the German President Horst Köhler. The “Germany – Land of Ideas” initiative is funded by the “Deutschland – Land der Ideen e.V.” society. It realises various core projects: the event programme – “365 Landmarks in the Land of Ideas”, international media service and the FanClub. In collaboration with the federal location marketing agency, the initiative also realises – supported by the Federal Ministry of Economy and Technology – the campaign “Invest in Germany – Land of Ideas” to promote Germany as a business location.
You can obtain more information on the “Germany – Land of Ideas” initiative at www.land-of-ideas.org.
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