23. August 2007
Press release

Unique opportunity for polar enthusiasts – at September 8th, the new German Antarctic research station will be displayed to the public in Bremerhaven

The new research station Neumayer Station III of the Alfred Wegener Institute for Polar and Marine Research in the Helmholtz Association is currently under construction by the consortium J.H. Kramer Stahlbau and Kaefer Isoliertechnik in Bremerhaven. Named by the German polar researcher Georg von Neumayer (1826-1909), Neumayer Station III will allow continuing German research in the Antarctic for the next 25 – 30 years.

How do scientists live and work in the Antarctic? Which technical difficulties need to be overcome in order to survive on the white continent? These are just some of the questions which interested individuals will find addressed from 10 – 17 h on September 8th. On the company premises of JH Kramer (Labradorstr. 5, Bremerhaven) one section of the new research station Neumayer Station III will be displayed in its full size of 30 metres height by 24 metres width. The station’s scientific observatories for meteorology, geophysics, atmospheric chemistry and underwater acoustics will present Antarctic research through hands-on participation. The central power station, forming the core of Neumayer Station III, will also be open for viewing. Even the youngest visitors have the opportunity to be immersed in the Antarctic world, e.g. by transforming into penguins, or by having the ozone layer elucidated through a dance performance of children.

Join us on September 8th, and find out everything about construction and operation of a modern research station, as well as about the future of German polar research in the Antarctic. Supported by the German Federal Ministry of Education and Research, construction of Neumayer Station III is realised during the International Polar Year 2007-2009.

All visitors will be able to utilize a free bus transportation service on this day. Between 9.00h and 16.00h, hourly shuttle busses will run from Bremenhaven’s main railway station via the German Maritime Museum bus stop to the event’s venue in the fishing harbour, and back.

Your contact person in the public relations department of the Alfred Wegener Institute is Dr. Ude Cieluch (Tel: ++49-471-4831-2008, email: medien@awi.de).
Further Information as well as printable images can be found on our webpage at
www.awi.de/de/aktuelles_und_presse/pressemitteilungen/
 
The Alfred Wegener Institute (AWI) conducts research in the Arctic, Antarctic and in oceans of temperate and high latitudes. The AWI coordinates polar research in Germany, and provides important infrastructure, such as the research icebreaker Polarstern and research stations in the Arctic and Antarctic for international scientific enterprises. The Alfred Wegener Institute is one of 15 research centres of the 'Helmholtz-Gemeinschaft' (Helmholtz Association), the largest scientific organisation in Germany.