Immerse yourself in the virtual research vessel "Polarstern"

The famous research vessel "Polarstern" is open to everyone from Friday. Inquisitive minds can move freely through the entire ship when they visit the special exhibition "360 Degrees" at the German Maritime Museum (DSM) in Bremerhaven.

We have already announced it in the German Maritime Museum (DSM) is now hosting a special virtual reality exhibition. The first exciting insights and reports are now available.

The exhibition gives visitors access to areas that are normally only accessible to the crew: the bridge, the engine room, the laboratory and the famous Blue Salon. And there is also something happening: last year, a camera team accompanied a transit voyage of the "Polarstern" from Bremerhaven to Las Palmas and filmed various areas of the ship using 360-degree technology. Thanks to the goggles, visitors can see up close when a researcher takes water samples from the sea.

"We have to rethink museums. We are testing new technology here and putting the researchers' glasses on the visitors," says Sunhild Kleingärtner, Director of the German Maritime Museum.

Rotate a giant 3D model with your hands

There are also augmented reality glasses. If you put these on, a full-size 3D model of the Polarstern appears in the centre of the exhibition hall. Visitors can use their hands to rotate and enlarge the model and find out about various areas of the research vessel.

One person who knows the research vessel inside out is Rainer Knust, Scientific Coordinator for the "Polarstern" at the Alfred Wegener Institute in Bremerhaven. "It's a funny thing. I know every corner of the ship, and it's really well done," he says. And Knust definitely wants to come back: "I'm not going to Antarctica any more, as I'm retiring soon. I'll always come here and take a virtual trip."

According to the DSM management, this is the first virtual reality technology of its kind in a museum in Europe to date. "We filmed 360-degree images at the same time with six cameras arranged in a spherical pattern, all the way through the ship," explains Dr Christian Stein.

Assembled on the computer

The scientist has devised an innovative concept with the DSM and the Alfred Wegener Institute for Polar and Marine Research. The team spent months sifting through the filmed material, selecting it, digitising it and saving it in such a way that visitors get the impression of being on board with the researchers themselves.

Spectacular start

But that's not all. The tour starts with a spectacular effect: the entire "Polarstern" literally floats under the huge hall ceiling. Anyone can even turn it round and round with their hands.

The exhibition "360° Polarstern - A virtual research expedition" can be seen from Friday, 17 May 2019, until Tuesday, 31 March 2020. The German Maritime Museum is open daily from 10 am to 6 pm. Admission costs 6 euros.

Further insights can be found in the video on the Website.

Source: butenunbinnen / nord24