focusTerra celebrates its 15-year anniversary

Since 2009, focusTerra has provided a platform for communicating about science at ETH Zurich. In its special exhibitions and activities, which are developed in cooperation with researchers, focusTerra addresses earth, planetary and natural sciences as well as technologies and their significance for society. focusTerra is thus committed to a dialogue with the public, including on challenging topics of our time.

For the joy of science and against gender bias

Twenty exhibitions have already been shown since the museum was founded. In total, over 250,000 people have visited the museum, of which children and young people now make up almost half. "The success of this target group is very important to us, as we want to introduce young people to science and get them excited about it so that they can incorporate it into their leisure time, studies and careers," explains Ulrike Kastrup, Director of focusTerra. "By addressing younger children in particular at an early age, we also want to counteract the gender bias and attract girls to the natural sciences."

Special responsibility of the universities

Ulrike Kastrup describes the increasing importance of the exhibition platform today as follows: "In today's world, which is characterised by rapid technological progress and social change, in which democracies are under threat and information manipulation is on the rise, in which citizens are no longer able to grasp, classify or understand the overwhelming flood of digital information, universities and science museums are of great importance as trustworthy institutions. They have a great opportunity and responsibility to actively engage in dialogue with the public in order to jointly promote knowledge and skills in society - so that together we can face the challenges and questions of our time and act responsibly. With focusTerra, we support these important goals and have been continuously developing our exhibitions in this spirit for 15 years."

Attractive exhibitions for everyone

With a wide range of offers - including online - focusTerra aims to inspire all those interested in the beauty and phenomena of the Earth and the relevance of an intact natural environment. Innovative approaches to science communication are used to promote critical thinking, break down barriers to understanding and appeal to people of different ages and backgrounds.

In 2012, for example, focusTerra opened "Fossil Art", the world's first barrier-free geological exhibition for people with visual impairments. In the "Expedition Solar System" exhibition, researchers became the heroes of their own science comic story. And anyone from anywhere in the world can contribute to the online exhibition "Travel Stones" with their own favourite stones and personal stories. The last exhibition "Waves - Dive in!" has been travelling since last year and will be shown at the external page Heinz Nixdorf MuseumsForum in Paderborn, the world's largest computer museum, from May 2024 before making a stop at the external page Carl Bosch Museum in Heidelberg.