The award was given on behalf of the International Organization for Science and Technology Museums (ASTC) - in recognition of creating an exceptional visiting experience
The "Eco-sphere", a unique educational complex that allows visitors - teenagers and adults - to experience and actively explore natural phenomena, and to discover the interrelationships between the various components of an ecological system, recently won the Science Garden an award on behalf of the International Organization for Science and Technology Museums ( ASTC) – as a token of appreciation for creating an exceptional visiting experience.
Dr. Moshe Rashpon, who founded the garden and manages it to this day, received the organization's "innovation award" several years ago. Since then, the kindergarten team has been looking for ways to also represent subjects from the fields of life sciences and environmental sciences. Prof. Israel Bar-Yosef brought up to the team the idea of the "ecological bubble" developed by Dr. Tamar Shek. The steering committee that was established, which was coordinated by Dr. Neta Maoz, included the head of the Department of Environmental Sciences and Energy Research, Prof. Dan Yakir, who currently heads the steering committee, the head of the department
then for plant sciences, Prof. Robert Flor, Dr. Tamar Shek, currently the scientific advisor of
The "Eco-Spira", Dr. Roni Ashkenazi, who is responsible for the education in the kindergarten, and Dr. Moshe Rashpon, perfected and expanded the idea to a comprehensive complex.
The "Eco-Sphere" was built by the architect Dan Peleg and the interior designer Prof. Hanan de Lange, as a transparent and special domed structure called a geodesic dome - a structure made of hexagonal and pentagonal surfaces (similar to a soccer ball), which contribute to maximum efficiency and strength. Inside the dome of the "eco-sphere" you can find everything
The components of an ecosystem: aquatic plants and land plants, fish, crabs and algae, and of course also soil, air, and pond water
and the irrigation. The activity offered to visitors, which takes place within the framework of the Davidson Institute for Scientific Education, is coordinated by Mittal Markowitz, and it touches on questions such as: What is a food chain? Why are plants green? What is sunlight made of? The answer to these questions, as well as to many other questions, can be discovered by viewing the various exhibits, through activities at the workstations scattered throughout the complex, as well as in various workshops. Visitors can disturb the delicate balance that exists between the components of the system, and examine how it deals with environmental changes, and in fact become an inseparable part of the entire ecosystem. In this way, they are given the opportunity to experience personally and directly the place of man in nature, and his ability to influence the processes taking place in it.
One response
We built one recently at the Technion as well... Very interesting to see it with your eyes!!
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