ESA title
Ecsite Space Group Annual Meeting 2023 - Participants visit ESOC’s control rooms and facilities
Agency

Space Group Annual Meeting 2023: a Europe-wide networking effort to bring space to the public

15/12/2023 145 views 2 likes
ESA / About Us / Exhibitions / Ecsite Space Group

The Ecsite Space Group Annual Meeting 2023 took place on 30 November and 1 December at ESA's European Space Operations Centre, ESOC, in Germany, bringing together a varied group of experts from Europe’s scientific divulgation community.  Its primary objective was to showcase projects and facilitate the exchange of ideas between ESA, museums, science centres, academia, and other European institutions: a Europe-wide collaborative effort that aims to foster communication in public spaces about European achievements.  

The two-day event featured a variety of activities and presentations, including two sessions that stood out as particularly notable within the context of collaborative initiatives across European institutions. 

Communicating achievements and endeavours together 

The session ‘Communicating achievements and endeavours together: museum exhibition projects in collaboration with ESA’ featured presentations that showcased some of the remarkable exhibitions recently realised and launched with the support of the European Space Agency. 

Mark Read, Exhibition Developer at Cité des Sciences et de l’Industrie, presented Mission Spatiale, a permanent exhibition produced in collaboration with the European Space Agency, which opened its doors in October 2023 in Paris.
Mark Read, Exhibition Developer at Cité des Sciences et de l’Industrie, presented Mission Spatiale, a permanent exhibition produced in collaboration with the European Space Agency, which opened its doors in October 2023 in Paris.

Mark Read, Exhibition Developer at Cité des Sciences et de l’Industrie, presented Mission Spatiale, a permanent exhibition produced in collaboration with the European Space Agency, which opened its doors in October 2023 in Paris.  This immersive exhibition is dedicated to space exploration and invites visitors to embark on an interactive journey structured into five steps: Explore, Travel, Transit, Stay and Questions. 

Fiorella Coliolo shares insights on Space for Our Planet at the Ecsite Space Group Annual Meeting 2023
Fiorella Coliolo shares insights on Space for Our Planet at the Ecsite Space Group Annual Meeting 2023

Fiorella Coliolo, Exhibition Curator, shared insights on Space for Our Planet, a travelling exhibition that is moving around the world to showcase how space technology and its applications benefit life on Earth and all humankind.  ESA is a founding partner and has contributed to Space for our Planet with concrete examples of how data from Earth observation, telecommunications, navigation satellites and integrated applications – as well as knowledge gained through International Space Station research – support the United Nations' 17 Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs). The exhibition is an example of the international cooperation among different partners - ESA, the United Nations, the European Commission, and the scientific community – to engage European citizens and raise awareness on this topic.

Immersive Science experiences in Museums in cooperation with ESA and National Delegations

Harald Moser, Head of Science Experience at Ars Electronica, provided insights into Ars Electronica Science Experience projects. He highlighted the interactive and multimedia approach developed to transform the Space for our Planet exhibition into an interactive exhibition.
Harald Moser, Head of Science Experience at Ars Electronica, provided insights into Ars Electronica Science Experience projects. He highlighted the interactive and multimedia approach developed to transform the Space for our Planet exhibition into an interactive exhibition.

Harald Moser, Head of Science Experience at Ars Electronica, provided insights into Ars Electronica Science Experience projects. He highlighted the interactive and multimedia approach developed to transform the Space for our Planet exhibition into an interactive exhibition. Furthermore, Moser presented the new European Space Agency visitor centre in ESRIN, designed and realised by Ars Electronica. This interactive and immersive space for activities at ESRIN will open its doors in spring 2024. 

Barbara Hopel, Director of Space Expo - the visitor centre of ESA ESTEC in Noordwijk, Netherlands - presented Earth from Space, a new exhibition about Earth observation, powered by ESA.
Barbara Hopel, Director of Space Expo - the visitor centre of ESA ESTEC in Noordwijk, Netherlands - presented Earth from Space, a new exhibition about Earth observation, powered by ESA.

Barbara Hopel, Director of Space Expo - the visitor centre of ESA ESTEC in Noordwijk, Netherlands - presented Earth from Space, a new exhibition about Earth observation, powered by ESA. In the interactive exhibition, visitors can discover what Earth observation satellites see, and what we do with this data, thanks to a large globe, an altitude map of the Netherlands and several touch screens.  Earth from Space is based on ESA's Φ- Experience (ESRIN, Italy) and has been developed into a museum version, suitable for all ages, in collaboration with Space Expo, ESA, DLR, ARS Electronica and Flink.  

Nils Sparwasser, Head of DLR’s Science Communication and Visualization department, provided an overview of his team’s endeavours: including the exhibition 'The Fragile Paradise' in the Oberhausen Gasometer.
Nils Sparwasser, Head of DLR’s Science Communication and Visualization department, provided an overview of his team’s endeavours: including the exhibition 'The Fragile Paradise' in the Oberhausen Gasometer.

Nils Sparwasser, Head of DLR’s Science Communication and Visualization department, provided an overview of his team’s endeavours: including the exhibition The Fragile Paradise in the Oberhausen Gasometer. In addition, Sparwasser showcased a variety of material designed not only for traditional exhibitions but also for immersive virtual reality experiences, allowing visitors to engage with space-related content in extraordinary ways. 

Sparwasser encouraged participants to use virtual reality as a complementary tool for traditional exhibitions, to ensure that space-themed content remains captivating for a wide modern audience.
Sparwasser encouraged participants to use virtual reality as a complementary tool for traditional exhibitions, to ensure that space-themed content remains captivating for a wide modern audience.
Martin Fleishmann and Kirsten Werner from the German Aerospace Center (DLR)
Martin Fleishmann and Kirsten Werner from the German Aerospace Center (DLR)

The pivotal role of the Ecsite Space Group in uniting science centres, museums, and the national delegations of ESA member states was underscored by the participation of delegations from ESA Member States. At the end of the first day, Martin Fleishmann and Kirsten Werner, from the German Aerospace Center (DLR), shared insights into their communication highlights and outlined priorities for the upcoming year. Their presence also highlighted the support that the Ecsite Space Group activities receive from European delegations throughout Europe to ensure the long-term sustainability of the network.

Public Engagement through Storytelling

The second day was mainly dedicated to the workshop ’Public Engagement through Storytelling - Enhancing European Space actors’ visibility’, which was led and facilitated by Christophe Chaffardon, Education, Science and Culture Director, Cité de l'espace, and Tobias Wolff, Exhibition Manager of Universum Bremen GmbH.   Attendees were divided into small groups of 7/8 participants to create stories focused on the themes of Exploration or climate change. Objectives included exploring ways to boost the visibility of European space actors, sharing basic elements of storytelling as science communication tool and concrete examples of storytelling in museums.