This week, two student-curated exhibitions were finalized in Kiel and Rendsburg. Both exhibitions are the final presentation of the newly developed IRRESISTIBLE module on Oceanography: Plastic – bane of the ocean. 

The submodule “Plastic – Bane of the Ocean” explores the influence of plastics on the ocean such as the different ways of contamination, the behavior of plastics in the ocean (e.g. aggregation in huge garbage patches), the adsorption of pollutants on micro-plastic particles, as well as their intrusion in the food chain. The submodule has a global as well as local level and includes experimental and group work. 

At both schools, the module was carried out by 9th graders in a natural science compulsory course, starting with the topic in March. After getting deeper insights into the problem of plastics polluting the oceans by working on the module, during the last weeks, students developed the exhibition content, created audio and video contributions, and build (scale) models. Both exhibitions were built using the EXPOneer system for student curated exhibitions. They present the various topics of the modules colorful and in very different ways. 

 
The exhibition at the Helene-Lange Gymnasium in Rendsburg, featuring a scale model of Boyan Sluts approach to collect plastic debris from the ocean, as well as a demonstration on the density of different plastics and their behavior in salt water.

Placed in the historic entrance hall of the Humboldt-School in Kiel, the “Plastics in the ocean” content presented in the modern exhibition framework offers an inspiring contrast. The exhibition offers a rich environment for engaging with the topic, including several hands-on experiments, three videos and six audio stations.