GRÖNLAND boarded: Family action day a complete success!
150 years ago the polar research vessel GRÖNLAND returned to Bremerhaven from the first German Arctic expedition. We celebrated this anniversary on 10 October 2018 with an action day.
On October 10, 1868, Bremerhaven was upside down: The arrival of the GRÖNLAND in the Old Port of Bremerhaven was a sensation and the one-master was enthusiastically received by the population. After all, the ship, which was only 30 metres long, had previously been the first German research vessel to sail in the Arctic for more than four months.
Undisputed star of the day
The focus of the family action day was - how could it be otherwise - the GRÖNLAND:
This unique wooden ship, which is still in good condition today, was moored in the New Harbour at the Havenwelten and could be viewed there under the motto "Open Ship". An offer that numerous visitors took advantage of in bright sunshine and pleasant temperatures. Large and small, old and young, poured onto the research ship during the course of the day, looked around extensively - and literally asked the crew holes in their stomachs.
The exciting short film about the spectacular arctic journey of the GRÖNLAND in 1868, which Fabian Fermazin produced during his voluntary social year at the DSM, also enjoyed great popularity.
Cinematic work was also the focus of a workshop in which participants put together moving images about research shipping, the GRÖNLAND, polar bears and more. This resulted in some interesting short films that were proudly taken home.
Science you can touch
Our family programme was complemented by various readings from the Polar children's book "Paul and Napoleon" and the opportunity to talk to researchers from the DSM and the Alfred Wegener Institute. They were available to answer questions and also talked very personally about their work and the passion for their profession.
How scientific work can actually work in practice was experienced together with the staff from the Zoo am Meer: they showed various experiments and invited visitors to examine real polar bear hair under the microscope.
To round off the day, numerous visitors listened to a current travel report from the research ship.
Partnerships
As with scientific research trips, the family celebration would not have been possible without the support of many partners.
We would like to thank all partners!
Alfred-Wegener-Institut Helmholtzzentrum für Polar- und Meeresforschung
Zoo am Meer Bremerhaven
Erlebnis Bremerhaven Gesellschaft für Touristik, Marketing und Veranstaltungen mbH
bis Bremerhavener Gesellschaft für Investitionsförderung und Stadtentwicklung mbH
Stadttheater Bremerhaven
