Exhibition
Sytem Earth
Planet in Constant Change
How Does Our Home Planet Work?
Our Earth is not a static celestial body, but a system full of interactions. Driven by heat flows within the Earth, continents shift, mountains rise, volcanoes form, and oceans open and close again. These processes shape not only landscapes, but also the development of life – and vice versa: living organisms alter the climate, the atmosphere, and even rocks.
At the same time, the Earth is in constant exchange with outer space. Dust particles and meteorites strike its surface every day, some with global consequences. The exhibition System Earth invites you to discover this planet as a connected, living organism – a world whose forces enable life and continually challenge it.
From Forest to Grassland: With global cooling, small early horses evolved into large grassland dwellers – and even influenced the climate themselves.
Photo: Verena Brüning
Separated by Continents: After the breakup of Gondwana, lungfish continued to evolve independently in Australia, Africa, and South America – and still live there today.
Photo: Verena Brüning
Exhibition “System Earth”: Visitors explore the five thematic islands around the interactive globe – from plate tectonics to the atmosphere.
Photo: Thomas Rosenthal
Interactive Globe – Experience the Earth in Motion
At the center of the exhibition is a three-meter interactive globe. It connects the thematic islands of volcanism, plate tectonics, mountain building, atmosphere, and impact. On its surface, films and animations show how forces from within the Earth and from outer space shape our planet.
Inside the globe, the exhibition takes visitors beneath the Earth’s crust: into the hot, viscous mantle and down to the glowing core, where the Earth’s magnetic field is generated. Here, it becomes clear that even continents are in motion and that these slow plate movements are the driving force of our planet.
What is a volcano?
A volcano is an opening in the Earth’s crust through which molten rock (magma), ash, and gases escape from the Earth’s interior. This process is called volcanism. It shows how active the Earth is beneath our feet.
Volcanism occurs primarily where tectonic plates collide, move apart, or lie above a so-called hotspot. When magma rises from deep within the Earth and reaches the surface, it cools and becomes lava. In this way, volcanic cones grow, lava flows form, ash is deposited, and entirely new landscapes emerge.
Volcanoes are natural pressure-release valves of our planet: they make visible the energy contained within the Earth and how closely internal processes are linked to climate, the atmosphere, and habitats.
The exhibition System Earth makes these processes tangible: it shows how mountain building and volcanism are connected, how they shape the Earth’s surface, and what significance they have for climate, ecosystems, and the development of life.
Interactive globe: It spatially connects themes such as volcanism, plate tectonics, and the atmosphere, making the “System Earth” tangible.
Photo: Carola Radke
