Successful "take-off" for the "youngest" European exhibition on the Sun
9 November 2000
The European Project on the Sun (EPOS) - a travelling exhibition on the Sun - was successfully inaugurated yesterday by the European Space Agency at the Noordwijk Space Expo, The Netherlands. The "EPOS" exhibition features the work of five teams of young people (14-18 years old) who have collaborated with their local science museums to conceive and produce professional-looking and informative displays.A colourful show of communication tools presenting many aspects of the Sun, European solar research and myths and legends about our Star, was finally unveiled to the public. A jury composed of European museum representatives, ESA astronauts, ESA scientists and science writers, were asked to evaluate the "best" work and presentation out of the five.
Italian team wins solar prize
"I don't know what to say - I'm just very excited to win this prize. We worked very hard," said Gianluca Cocozza, a member of the Italian team which was awarded first prize this morning for its contribution to the Solar exhibition.
The displays are housed inside a dome which will travel to each of the participating museums over the next year, starting with Space Expo in the Netherlands which hosted yesterday's event. The winning exhibit is called "How does the Sun work?". The other exhibits are "The Sun as a Star" (F), "Solar activity" (NL), "Observing the Sun" (D) and "Humans and the Sun" (B).
The jury praised the high standard of all the displays and the creativity shown by the young people. The winning display was praised in particular for its "hands-on" approach in conveying difficult information to a lay audience and for the enthusiasm shown by the team members.
"Studying books is very different from making an exhibition. We learned a lot from putting what we've learned into practice," said Maurizio Della Fornace, another member of the winning team, which comes from Naples. He is now in his first year studying engineering at university. His fellow team members, who are still at school, say they also plan to take their studies of science or engineering further.
The Italian team won a weekend at the Space Camp in Redu, Belgium.
Note to editors
The "European Project on the Sun" was initiated in 1999 by ECSITE (European Collaborative for Science, Industry and Technology Exhibitions) with funding by the European Commission and under the supervision, coordination and co-sponsorship of the European Space Agency. Five Science and Technology museums from Belgium, France, Germany, Italy, The Netherlands (Musee des Sciences et de Techniques - Parentville, B; Cite de l'Espace - Toulouse, F; Deutsches Museum - Munich, D; Fondazione IDIS - Naples, I; Foundation Noordwijk Space Expo - Noordwijk, NL) coordinated - respectively - the five teams of youngsters.
The travelling exhibition will move through Europe for one year, hosted in turn by the five museums, as follows:
Nov 2000: Space Expo Noordwijk, The Netherlands
January- May 2001: Fondazione IDIS, Naples - Italy
June-Mid August 2001: Deutsches Museum, Munich - Germany
September - October 2001: Citi de l'Espace, Toulouse - France
November - December 2001: Parentville (without dome structure), Belgium
For further information please contact:
Mrs Martine Quequin
ECSITE Executive Office, Brussels - Belgium
Tel: +32 2 647 50 98
Email: wstaveloz
ecsite.net
Mr Laurent Thomas
Musee des Sciences et des Techniques de Parentville - Belgium
Tel: +32 71 600 300
Email: Lthomasulb.ac.be
Mr Philippe Droneau
Cite de l'Espace, Toulouse - France
Tel: +33 5 62 71 56 05
Email: p.droneaucite-espace.com
Mr. Gerhard Hartl
Deutsches Museum, Munich - Germany
Tel: +49 89 2179 456
Email: g.hartlextern.lrz-muenchen.de
Mrs Alessandra Zanazzi
Fondazione IDIS - Citta' della Scienza, Napels - Italy
Tel: +39 081 7352 245
Email: zanazzicittadellascienza.it
Mr Wouter van der Kwaak
Foundation Noordwijk Space Expo, Noordwijk - The Netherlands
Tel: +31 71 36 46 448
Email: nsemgtestec.esa.nl
