Project info
Umwelt-Exploratorium e.V. (U-X)
Headquarters Frankfurt am Main
founded: 1994
18 members, thereof 10 honorary staff
www.u-x.de
Location: Hangar at the old airport Frankfurt-Bonames
Built by US forces and used as field airfield until 1992
From 2002 renaturalized by the city of Frankfurt to a nature and recreation area
In 2003, the hangar was developed by U-X into a learning station for children and young people
Project: Upgrading of the hangar
Restructuring and reorganization of the rear hangar area to improve workshop organization, processing of the now over 20 workshops
Our sponsorship
Assumption of the costs for this project (total € 5,000)
Funding period: December 2021 to June 2022
Firing water rockets into the sky, building the MuseoAeroSolar from used plastic bags or investigating why cicadas are the highest jumpers – the Aeronauten-Werkstatt offers these and other workshops and projects to children and young people in the form of workshops and events and to schools as extended learning areas.
The Aeronauten-Werkstatt in the hangar of the Old Airport Frankfurt-Bonames is one of the essential venues of the Umwelt-Exploratorium e.V. and deals primarily with topics related to air, flying and movement.
The project operator
The Umwelt-Exploratorium e.V. focuses its work primarily on environmental education. This also includes democracy education and artistic-aesthetic education as essential components. The work with refugees currently represents an additional field of activity and concern of the U-X.
The goal of the association is to sustainably promote the environmental awareness and social participation of each individual participant. Founded in 1994 by graduates of the Offenbach University of Applied Sciences, the U-X has been developing and initiating learning and research formats for children, young people and adults for many years.
In addition to a whole series of workshops and events in the Aeronauten workshop in the hangar in Frankfurt-Bonames and the Aquanauten workshop on the banks of the Main in Niederräder, the U-X offers children and young people in daycare centers and schools the opportunity to deal with environmental topics in a solution-oriented manner with loanable “workshop” cases (e.g. climate case, passive house).
Upgrading the hangar as a learning venue for the aeronauts’ workshop
The Aeronauten-Werkstatt at the old Frankfurt-Bonames airfield was founded in 2004 in cooperation with the Frankfurt Environmental Agency. The former helicopter hangar is used for different purposes. On the one hand, it offers ample space for research, building, experimenting and testing for the various workshops and events. This includes, for example, the “Summer Workshop”, a hands-on program for families, which has been held during the Hessian school summer vacations for 13 years.
On the other hand, it is also a development space and storage room for the materials of new and existing programs.
In order to improve the equipment as a starting point for new formats and offers, the rear hangar area is now to be upgraded through restructuring and reorganization. Finished workshops (materials, instructions, exhibits) can thus be better stored and supplemented for easier offering than before. Workshops will be conceptually revised and updated. In addition, banners with workshop presentations will be designed and made, which will serve to better explain, introduce, and advertise them.
The aim of these measures is to rework the workshops and optimize their organization, thus creating more time for the participating children and for the workshops themselves.
In actively grasping and understanding the processes, we are convinced, sustainable educational opportunities open up through one’s own actions.
Till Hergenhahn, Head of Aeronauts Workshop
Why we are committed to the project
The objectives and the commitment of the association Umwelt-Exploratorium e.V. appeal to us very much. The association addresses children and young people of all backgrounds in the area of environmental education in connection with the promotion of democracy and artistic-aesthetic aspects through appealing and unusual formats. The involvement of parents and teachers is also considered here. Our foundation sees the prepared environment as an important basis for education. Therefore, we are pleased to be able to financially support the Aeronaut Workshop in restructuring the hangar to improve workshop offerings.
The natural sciences are often unpopular subjects at school for many children and young people. With its workshops, materials and concepts, the Aeronauts Workshop manages to package scientific topics in a way that awakens interest in exploring and understanding. Thus, the U-X creates the spaces and environments needed for self-determined learning. In conjunction with the association’s goals of promoting environmental awareness and social participation of each individual participant in a sustainable manner, the work of the U-X is thus directly in line with the ideas of our foundation.
