26 October 2023 – 4 February 2024 | Free Space Forum Wissen
Digital Forest. A virtual kourney into climate research.
Date: 26.10.2023 – 04.02.2024
Place: Forum Wissen, Free space
Climate change is increasingly having an impact on all of our day-to-day thoughts and lives. It is also causing big problems for the forest. The new special exhibition “Digital Forest” in the Forum Wissen, the knowledge museum of the University of Göttingen, uses virtual reality to show how scientists from the Universities of Göttingen and Leipzig are researching issues such as the effects of drought on the forest. At the same time, visitors are invited to consider their own actions and behaviour in the climate crisis. This special exhibition runs from 26 October 2023 to 4 February 2024.
The exhibition focuses on innovative technologies and methods of climate research in the forest, such as state-of-the-art sensor technology and data analysis methods from the field of artificial intelligence. In an area of the Hainich National Park, one of the most pristine forests in Central Europe, a network of sensors records the transport of water from the roots right up to the leaves every 30 minutes. From a 40-metre-high measuring tower, the “breath of the forest” is constantly being measured and data on evaporation and CO₂ absorption is collected. Thanks to modern laser technology, digital copies of the trees are created, revealing the drought damage. High above, satellites are orbiting, providing a bird’s eye view of the changes in the forest.
The Digital Forest special exhibition makes all this visible and tangible. Using cutting edge computer technology, it illustrates how climate research is carried out in the forest ecosystem. At the same time, the exhibition encourages visitors to think about what each and every one of us can do to protect the climate. A journey in virtual reality takes visitors right inside the research station in the Hainich National Park, bringing to life modern field research in the forest. This immersive experience is framed by actual objects such as measuring instruments, informative graphics, hands-on stations and diverse voices from research. There is a German saying “shout into the forest and a similar echo will return” which loosely translates as “you reap what you sow”, or eventually you will have to face the consequences of your actions: this is clearly demonstrated by the Digital Forest. Current perspectives from forest protection, climate activism and climate politics are intended to encourage people to consider their own actions and to continue the essential dialogue between science and society about the climate crisis.
The exhibition runs from 26 October 2023 to 4 February 2024 in the Freiraum of the Forum Wissen (Berliner Straße 28, 37073 Göttingen), which is open Tuesdays to Sundays from 10:00 to 18:00.
Come and experience the “Digital Forest” in the Forum Wissen, the knowldege museum of the University of Göttingen!
We are stageing a lot events for people all ages parallel to the exhibition! Over the next few months, we will be hosting discussions and events on climate protection at the Forum Wissen. Check out our events calendar (mostly in German).
Our project partners are Nationalpark Hainich, the Remote Sensing Centre for Earth System Research of the University of Leipzig as well as the Integrated Carbon Observation System ICOS, a European research infrastructure. We would like to thank the land of Lower Saxony, the Federal Ministry for Education and Research and the Volkswagen Foundation for their support.
