New media stations at the Zoological Museum Hamburg
© Paran Pour
Visits to the Zoological Museum Hamburg are becoming more and more interactive: in addition to the animal specimens, there are now also media stations with further information to discover in three areas. Visitors can learn even more about the Hamburg mammal researcher Henriette Oboussier, the biodiversity of our planet and the threat to large animals in Africa through hunting and poaching.
The “Horn Wall”, in the left wing of the museum, presents the life’s work of a zoological pioneer in more detail – now also interactively. Henriette Oboussier (1914- 1985) conducted independent and emancipated research on antelopes in Africa as early as the 1960s and 70s. After her travels, she brought a selection of horns back to her research home in Hamburg, where she later helped to design the “Horn Wall” in the Zoological Museum. The new accompanying media station tells of her adventures in Africa, her research findings and her life. There is also background information on the evolutionary history of cloven-hoofed animals and the dangers posed by poachers and horn hunters.
© Frithjof Malte Leopold
Elephant, rhino, Cape buffalo, lion and leopard – these are the “Big Five” of safari. Big game hunters gave the African animals this title because hunting them was particularly dangerous and difficult. Even today, not only tourists with cameras chase them, but also poachers for their tusks, horns or skins. In the Zoological Museum, we encounter the “Big Five” right behind the entrance foyer. The accompanying media station goes into more detail about each animal species and presents its importance for the African ecosystem. Visitors also learn the exciting background story of how the armoured rhinoceros “Nepali” from Hagenbeck’s zoo found its way to the museum.
© Frithjof Malte Leopold
The interactive touchscreen on the museum’s biodiversity wall has been redesigned again and now offers even more comprehensive insights into the diversity of our animal world. In the display case at the back of the museum, we show examples from all animal groups: from single-celled organisms to mammals. The media station provides descriptions of 276 animal species, giving all visitors extensive knowledge: From the tiny worm that has a great impact on our ecosystems to us humans and our negative influence on nature.
