New European Bauhaus Prizes 2023

Initiative category

Identify the award category for which this initiative is being submitted
Reconnecting with nature

Email user
k.bloom@centrumnauki.eu

Basic information
Initiative title
Sea of Modern Science and Education

Full initiative Title
Maritime Science Center as model of new european, inclusive, education

Please provide a short, catchy description of your initiative to be used in communication towards the public.
Three floors with over 200 interactive exhibits that teach through fun and enjoyment. A huge concrete ball housing a planetarium which will present the cosmos and also underwater world. Educational rooms for memorable lessons. There is a stunning view of the River Odra and the city of Szczecin from the terrace on the roof. The building in the shape of a ship moored on river bank where all visitors will be most welcome to experience maritime and sea life. Maritime Science Center in Szczecin!

What was the geographical scope of your intiative?
Regional

Where was your intiative implemented?
Member State(s) and Western Balkans
Poland

If relevant, insert names of region(s)/municipality(ies) involved
Western Pomerania

Does your initiative address mainly urban or rural issues?
It addresses urban-rural linkages

Does your initiative refer to a physical transformation of the built environment or other types of transformations (hard or soft investments)?
It refers to a physical transformation of the built environment (hard investment)

Has your initiative benefited from EU programmes and/or funds?
Yes

Which fund(s)?
ERDF : European Regional Development Fund

Here you can provide more details about the name of the specific programme, strand/action line as relevant, and the year
Axis 9. Public infrastructure,
Action 9.6. Science popularization centers

Has your initiative won an EU prize with a monetary value awarded?
No

Does your initiative has a minimum level of maturity? The minimum level of maturity is exemplified by stakeholder/ initiative promoter commitment to implement the initiative in practice and a clear methodology /approach.
Yes

On whose behalf are you submitting the application?
As a representative of an organisation
Please provide the contact details for the project promoter (the individual or representative of the organisation authorised to represent the project)
- Name of the organisation(s): Maritime Science Center
  Type of organisation: Public authority (European/national/regional/local)
  First name of representative: Witold
  Last name of representative: Jabłoński
  Gender: Male
  Nationality: Poland
  Function: Director
  Address (country of permanent residence for individuals or address of the organisation)<br/>Street and number: Nad Duńczycą 1
  Town: Szczecin
  Postal code: 70-655
  Country: Poland
  Direct Tel: +48 508 268 241
  E-mail: w.jablonski@centrumnauki.eu
  Website: http://centrumnauki.eu
Social Media accounts (Facebook, Twitter, LinkedIn, Instagram, etc.)
- URL: https://www.facebook.com/CentrumNauki
  Social media handle and associated hashtag(s): #mcntworzysie
- URL: https://www.instagram.com/morskiecentrumnauki/
  Social media handle and associated hashtag(s): #mcntworzysie
- URL: https://www.linkedin.com/company/11410253/
  Social media handle and associated hashtag(s): #mcntworzysie
- URL: https://www.youtube.com/@morskiecentrumnauki7874
  Social media handle and associated hashtag(s): #mcntworzysie
In case my initiative is selected as a finalist of the NEB Prizes 2023, I agree to share the name (individual and/or organisation’s), email address, website and social media accounts indicated above with other NEB Prizes finalists. I also agree to publish the name (individual and/or organisation’s), website and social media accounts indicated above next to the public description of my initiative in the channels of the European Commission.
Yes

How did you hear about the New European Bauhaus Prizes?
New European Bauhaus or European Commission websites

Description of the initiative
Please provide a summary of your initiative
Maritime Science Center named of prof. Jerzy Stelmacha in Szczecin (MSC), which will be opened in 2023, is a modern educational and cultural institution of regional and transcending regional importance, which will contribute to the development of the region. Strategic documents and analysis illustrated that Center would have huge potential. Designed to support and complement formal (school) education conducted in institutions throughout the region. The Center was built in one of the most interesting places in Szczecin (north west Poland), on the river island of Łasztownia with historical bacground of docks, shipyards and marine industry. From the terrace of the building there is a beautiful view of the Oder River and the historic Chrobry Embankments, which are the most beautiful part of city. The mission of the Science Center in Szczecin is to support the discovery of the world with the use of scientific tools, to stimulate active action and to build the identity and brand of the region based on its links with the sea. Our Science Center will be one of the few interactive science centers in Europe related to the maritime and marine subjects. This topics are strictly connect with history of region and is connected with all area identity. Maritime themes will be present in the architecture, exhibitions and program activities of the center. The heart of the institution will be an exhibition consisting of over 200 interactive exhibits located on three floors. Thanks to the good fun, the recipients will be able to gain knowledge in many fields of science. Important element of place is a planetarium placed in a concrete sphere inside the building. Shows in planetarium will be multidisciplinary including astronomy, biology or physics. The Planetarium of the Marine Science Center has one of the most modern systems, which includes a "full dome" 3D digital projection system and planetary software.

Please indicate the main themes of your initiative with 5 key words.
Sea

Please indicate the main themes of your initiative with key words
Science

Please indicate the main themes of your initiative with key words
Inclusion

Please indicate the main themes of your initiative with key words
Modernity

Please indicate the main themes of your initiative with key words
Lifelong Learning

Please give information about the key objectives of your initiative in terms of sustainability and how these have been/will be met. Please highlight how the initiative can be exemplary in this context.
The building of the Maritime Science Center, relating to sustainable development is trying to obtain the silver certificate of LEED (Leadership in Energy and Environmental Design). The LEED rating of the building proves that the principles of sustainable construction had a huge impact on the process of creating MSC. During the construction process, the selection of materials took into account their quality and origin. Efforts were made to use products for which information about the life cycle is available and which have an environmentally, economically and socially preferable impact on it. Selected materials have Environmental Declarations, which confirm their lack of negative impact on the environment. The location of the building was chosen in such a way to avoid the development of environmentally sensitive areas. Before the construction of the assessed investment there was the Port of Szczecin and its surroundings were built using concrete slabs. The location of the MSC in a previously built-up area encourages the re-use of existing infrastructure and investment in existing districts. The Maritime Science Center structure in a high-priority redevelopment site revitalized the neighbourhood and brought social and economic benefits to the surrounding community. MSC conducted a life cycle assessment of the entire building, covering its complete cladding and structural elements, including material components. The facility showed optimization in such categories as: thermal potential, destruction of the ozone layer, acidification, eutrophication, smog, and the disappearance of non-renewable energy sources.

Please give information about the key objectives of your initiative in terms of aesthetics and quality of experience for people (through design, positive emotions and cultural benefits) and how these have been met. Please highlight how the initiative can be exemplary in this context.
The building design of Maritime Science Center in Szczecin was selected in an architectural competition settled in 2011. The winner was the concept of the Płaskowicki & Partnerzy studio. The jury appreciated the idea of giving the building a shape very reminiscent of a ship's hull. Center was built on a river island, Łasztownia, in the vicinity of the shipyard and industrial facilities. The façade of the object consists of two layers. One is the colorful façade panels, whose arrangement and form are an interpretation of shifted sea containers arranged randomly on the ship's deck. From the outside, this colorful composition is covered with black metal mesh. Both layers together create a spatial effect, supplemented after dark with specially designed illumination. The building, which from a distance resembles a ship moored at the shore, is over 120 meters long and almost 15 meters high. The Maritime Science Center has changed the appearance of Łasztownia island that has been permanently inscribed in the landscape of Szczecin since the Middle Ages. At the turn of the 19th and 20th centuries, the demand for flats contributed to the dense development of Łasztownia with rental houses for workers, factory buildings and various production and service facilities. Almost the entirety of Łasztownia was ruined during the war, in 1942-1944. In recent years, the boulevards on the Odra river next to the Center were revitalized and become one of the favorite places of recreation for the Szczecin citizens. Today it is known that the island is becoming a new, attractive and vibrant space. The Maritime Science Center with modern forms and oryginal design will give to all visitors aesthetic and quality experience.

Please give information about the key objectives of your initiative in terms of inclusion (ranging from accessibility and affordability for all to inclusive governing systems, design for all principles or new societal models) and how these have been met. Please highlight how the initiative can be exemplary in this context.
During the design of the Maritime Science Center emphasis was made to make it accessible to all visitors and make it user friendly to visitors with disabilities. During construction and when creating exhibitions and the Planetarium, all areas were designed to make them accessible to a wide range of visitors. People with physical disabilities will be able to move around the Center without obstacles. There are no barriers between exhibits or rooms and lifts can be used between floors. Visitors will also be able to get easy and direct access to the outdoor terrace via a specially designed external lift. All exhibits are accessible to visitors in wheelchairs without obstacles, the Planetarium also has a dedicated area for disabled and wheelchair visitors. For visually impaired visitors the floors are equipped with special raised markings to help navigate around the various exhibits and other open areas. As far as affordability is concerned, work is underway to develop a ticketing system. Apart from the standard ticket there will be reduced price tickets for various groups and combined tickets for various attractions.Due to the fact that the Center is also a cultural institution, being profitable is not the primary objective of it's activities, we will try to make to price of admission affordable to all visitors.

Please explain the way citizens benefiting from or affected by the initiative and civil society have been/will be involved in the initiative and what has been/will be the impact of this involvement on the initiative
Children and young people in school groups are usually one of the most important and largest groups of visitors to science centers. This is a wide and heterogeneous group with very diverse needs. Children from the age of 3 can satisfy their need for research and experiment in the science center. Children in early school age (6-10 years old) have a natural curiosity, energy and desire to explore the world, and at the same time they are starting their education process in the process of shaping their attitudes and approach to learning. Children (10-13 years old) and teenagers (14-17 years old) are a very important target group for the MSC. Children aged 10-13 can carry out the process of research and scientific reasoning. At the same time, they enter the stage of school education, in which there are detailed content in the field of natural and exact sciences: physics, chemistry, biology. Young people already have the knowledge and skills to understand complex content, conduct more difficult experiments and derive theories of the studied phenomena. The family group is a typically large category of visitors on non-working days. Currently, in Western Pomerania there is no offer in the field so-called “wise entertainment” (educational and cultural attractions) targeted at families with children. To provide good, modern education to a high European standard is an investment in childrens future and for parents that is a strong motivation. Teachers are a key part of the education ecosystem, so good preparation of the offer for teachers is one of the priorities of the center. Teachers decide when classes visit the center, and each teacher who values the program activities of the institution and identifies with MSC mission as liaison is able to contact hundreds of students. The Maritime Science Center will offer the opportunity to spend valuable time for all age groups. It will support school education, but also personal development, implementing the idea of lifelong learning.

Please explain how different stakeholders at various levels (local, regional, national, European) were engaged in the design and implementation of the initiative.
During the preparation process of the exhibitions (key element of Maritime Science Center) a number of consultations and many hours of meetings concerning the nature and subject of the exhibition were carried out. Anyone who had ideas or suggestions about what should be shown at the future exhibition could submit them during the consultations. Meetings were also held with various interested social groups, including local authorities, directors of Western Pomerania cultural institutions and museums, art galleries and the local opera house, representatives of the teaching community rectors and deans of local universities and marine technical universities, science promoters and representatives of professions related to the sea as retired sea captains and ship builders.

Please explain which disciplines and/ or knowledge fields were reflected in the design and implementation of your initiative. Please explain how representatives of these different fields interacted with each other, and what the added value of this process was
The exhibitions, planetarium and other activities in the Maritime Science Center will relate to many fields of science, including: physics, biology, geography and chemistry. In addition to the initial consultations carried out before the start of the exhibition, the MSC cooperated with universities in the region, which support the Center with substantantial knowledge (Departament of Biology, Department of Physical Sciences and Mathematics , Institute of Marine Scinence and Environmental Science ect.) Maritime Science Center has a Board as an advisory body, whose tasks include: offering opinions on the Centers annual financial plans and activity programmes, proposing new projects, initiating and maintaining cooperation between the MSC and the culture, education and science communities.

Please highlight the innovative character of the initiative, when compared to mainstream actions in the field of the initiative
The Maritime Science Center in Szczecin will function as a bridge between museums and science centers. It will play the role as a link between these communities in Poland, support their cooperation and transfer between them in the knowledge of good practices including popularization of science and informal, modern education. It will also continue the tradition of scientific exhibits and interactive exhibitions initiated by prof. Jerzy Stelmach – patron of MSC, physicist, professor at the Szczecin University, He was advocate of creating a large, multi-functional science center which was the missing element in the region. So far, there have been no institutions of a similar nature and size in the Western Pomerania region. It is also one of the few science centers with a profiled field of interest focused on the sea and maritime subjects.

Please describe which elements of your initiative could be replicated or transferred to other places, groups of beneficiaries and contexts. This may involve, for example, aspects of the methodology, technology, processes, products, learnings, etc.
Similar places to the Maritime Science Center in the Western Pomerania region would positivly affect development of tourism. Despite the constantly developed offer of the region, there is still a lack of tourist products that would eliminate seasonality and extend the tourist season which on Baltic seaside is mainly during summer. It is also advisable to expand the tourist offer intended for specific market segments, such as urban tourism, cultural tourism and special branch of tourism as educational trips. It is worth noting that there are no interactive science centers in Western Pomerania regions and north-eastern Germany. We hope that we will also be a good example for other investments in the field of environmental friendliness and minimizing the harmful impact on the external environment. In the case of investment in the construction of the Maritime Science Center, the issues of a sustainable approach to the environment were taken in many aspects regarding location of the building, quality of materials, electricity and water consumption, indoor air quality in health aspects, project innovation and the impact of selected architectural solutions on natural environment. All these elements can be presented as a model for other initiatives.

Please describe the methodology or approach used in your initiative.
The Maritime Science Center is a response to the expectations voiced for many years by the sea and maritime community. Listening to these voices, the Marshal of Western Pomerania decided to create a cultural institution popularizing science. The choice of methodology for the creation of the interactive exhibition is a conscious approach to the participation of various groups-the scientific community, public figures, directors of cultural institutions, sailors, fishermen, shipyard workers, teachers by expressing their suggestions and opinions. Thanks to this, a coherent concept of the permanent exhibition of the Center was created.

Please explain what kind of global challenges the initiative addresses by providing local solutions
The Maritime Science Center will be a prestigious, modern institution setting standards and trends in the field of education and culture not only among the population of Szczecin and Western Pomerania, but also among all recipients, including a large number of tourists from Poland and abroad including Germany, Denmark, Sweden and Norway. We hope that a large group of visitors will be Ukraine refuges, whose community in Szczecin is numerous. Spreading the idea of lifelong learning and strengthening the role of non-formal education are important aspects of our activities. These are now significant trends in European and global education.

Please detail the scope of progress in the implementation of the initiative. This can include already demonstrated results/outputs related to the chosen Prizes category, and the already achieved benefits from the initiative for direct and indirect beneficiaries. This can also include a development plan of the initiative, with a particular attention to the steps envisaged in the year following the application, and including envisaged results and benefits from the initiative
Maritime Science Center which is named after prof. Jerzy Stelmach in Szczecin will be opened to visitors this year. We estimate that the number of visitors will amount to about 150,000 per year. We hope that the revival of our cultural and educational activities outside Center will be considerably more. At the moment, construction works on the building have been completed, equipping the planetarium has been completed, and work on the two hundred exhibits of exhibition is in the process of completion.

Please provide documents that demonstrate the maturity level of the initiative and commitment to implement the initiative in practice (e.g.: evaluation report, final or mid-term initiative report, certification, publications, building permit, grant agreement, letter of support, partnership agreement, etc.)
PDF
PDF
- pdf-1-24307.pdf
If relevant, please describe how your initiative contributes to developing new competences, especially in the context of the European competence framework on sustainability.
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Please attach at least 6 high resolution images or visual representations of your initiative to your application.
If you would like to upload additional documentation, please upload or write below.
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By submitting your application you confirm that you are the copyright owner of the images provided and that they can be used by the European Commission for the purposes of promoting the New European Bauhaus on all platforms (websites, print, social media and other).
Yes

By ticking this box, you declare that you are not in in one or more of the exclusion situations foreseen under Article 136 of the Financial Regulation.
Yes

By submitting this application, I declare that I am not related to the entities subject to EU restricted measures under Article 29 of the Treaty on the European Union (TEU) and subject to Article 215 of the Treaty on the Functioning of the EU (TFEU)1, and entities covered by Commission Guidelines No 2013/C 205/05), which are not eligible to participate in any capacity.
Yes

By ticking this box, you declare that all the information provided in this form is factually correct, that you assume sole liability in the event of a claim relating to the activities carried out in the framework of the contest, that the proposed initiative has not been proposed for the New European Bauhaus Prizes in any other category or strand and that it has not been subject to any type of investigation, which could lead to a financial correction because of irregularities or fraud.
Yes

By submitting your application, you guarantee that you are the author or have the rights to proceed with the application and to authorise the use of the initiative and that you have obtained any necessary consents, licenses or assignments from third parties and included copyright notices when necessary
Yes

By submitting your application, you understand that all the applications that meet the eligibility requirements will be shared for the purposes of the selection processes, and notably published on the secured platform prizes.new-european-bauhaus.eu and for the purposes of the promotion of these on the New European Bauhaus website and/or other European Commission communication channels. In this sense, the applications would be widely available. Applicants should ensure that they present their initiatives, initiative, in such a way that they could be shared without giving rise to intellectual property related concerns. If your submission is selected as one of the finalists, it will additionally be shared for the purpose of the public vote that will take place. The European Union is granted a licence to use and share your application with the general public and the official external experts for the purposes of the selection process, including the voting. The European Union has the right to use the images and visual materials and the description provided in the application for communication purposes related to the contest and beyond. Rights granted comprise the right to store, reproduce, display, publish and communicate or distribute copies in electronic or digital format, including, but not only, through the internet. Unless you have disclosed your name, the European Commission has no obligation to share your name when using or disseminating your contribution to the public. The European Union cannot be held responsible in case any submitted initiative, initiative is found to infringe third party’s rights. The European Union shall be neither responsible for the use that third parties may do of the applications or related content.
Yes

By submitting your application, you acknowledge that you read and understand that the ‘Guide to Applicants’ of the NEB Prizes 2023, available online in the website of the NEB Prizes 2023, is an integral part of this application form and that it must therefore be observed when completing and submitting your application.
Yes