Hennhouse
In May 2010, we opened the media project “Hennhouse.” Our guests can come without prior reservations and experience our institute’s work and current research through film and slideshows.
The first segment of Maxcine, the Hennhouse, was realized between 2009 and May 2010. It is based on Babette Eid’s idea in cooperation with the media designers Schukat and Reuter and in agreement with the director of the institute. Due to its central position on campus, the former chicken stall at the old castle mill was a suitable building for visitors, who often pass by incidentally as hikers or bicyclers, to inform themselves independently and interactively about our institute.
On the one hand, the idyllically situated historic building should keep its original form and only attract attention made by small deliberate changes. The artist Sebastion Sieber from Zürich painted a mural on the road-facing side of the building as an eye catcher. It presents the complex, multi-faceted levels of bird migration from different perspectives and blends into the surrounding countryside.
On the other hand, we wanted to transfer guests into a completely different world once setting foot into the inconspicuous house. The color blue and the clouds projected onto the floor and glassed-walls convey a feeling of the element “air.”
Fifteen computers, five video projectors, a Dolby-Surround system, ten touch screen monitors integrated into the glass walls as well as projection areas on the walls and floor show our scientists’ worldwide research and current projects. We can update and stage the input at any time, for example to show current migration routes out of the movebank databank. Right now visitors can access information about twelve different studies (three minutes each) in a combination of text, pictures and short films. In the future we would like to present 20 projects which will rotate automatically in regular intervals in order to maintain a diversified and lively collection.
We project different films onto the front screen.
Opening Hours:
Monday – Friday: 9:00 a.m. – 6:00 p.m.
Saturday: 9:00 a.m. – 12:00 p.m.
From 1 May 2012
Monday – Friday: 9:00 a.m. – 7:00 p.m.
Saturday + Sunday: 10:00 a.m. – 7:00 p.m.
