The framework

Expedition Münsterland of the Innovation Office and its citizen science projects.

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Expedition Münsterland

An X against forgetting – the expedition tracks down places with a special history and makes them visible again.
An X against forgetting – the expedition tracks down places
with a special history and makes them visible again. Here:
the striking ramparts of the old Landwehr between Roxel
and Albachten, which served as a defensive fortification
in the Middle Ages.

Why an expedition into the region?

As a university that is rooted in the region, the University of Münster has a special responsibility towards the Münsterland region. University and region are mutually dependent, benefit from each other, and strengthen one another. The declared aim is to intensify the University’s connection and exchange with Münsterland, and to expand joint activities with the region. “Using and benefiting the region” has become the leitmotif of opening up to the rural area. “We are going into the region” was and is the declared approach of Expedition Münsterland.

Site-specific university exhibition
“Dallas Darfeld” in the House of
Science in Darfeld.
The ice cellar in Altenberge as the setting for a theme day on climate change in Münsterland.

“Using and benefiting the region”

Use the innovative tool of idea mining
to generate new ideas and approaches
together.
The science box makes a stop
in front of the castle in Münster.

To jointly track down and prepare interesting places in the region and present the results on the spot.

Science happens right on our doorstep: let’s explore it together.

Expedition Münsterland has been bringing unique and often unknown scientific sites in Münsterland to life and making university research visible in the region since 2010. The goal of the expedition is to work together with scientists, students and the general public to track down interesting places in the region, to prepare them, and to present the results on site. As a strategic instrument of the University of Münster, the expedition stimulates the process of exchange between region and university.

An x_location in Schöppingen
to mark a site of nuclear home
defence
Excavation site, Schmerlecke:
Stone Age skeletons tell of
the life of our ancestors.
Together with the Haltern Roman Museum and the sports sciences, original replica Roman boats were tested in a regatta.
Together with the Institute for Teaching Mathematics and Computer Science, the project “Mathebrücken” has developed new and exciting approaches to learning on the doorstep.
Project “Kulturtraverse Berkel” with the christening of a model of the Berkelzomp.

Synergies and insights arise from pooling different understandings and knowledge that had previously existed in parallel.

Citizen Science – the general public create knowledge

Previous projects show that the approach of mutual knowledge transfer between academics and the general public is fruitful and rewarding for all involved. Synergies and insights arise from pooling different understandings and knowledge that had previously existed in parallel. Processes in civil society are initiated or gain momentum, new cultures and forms of cooperation with the people of Münsterland emerge – perhaps the most important goal of Expedition Münsterland.

x_location “Molchschleuse”: Control station of
a natural gas pipeline in Albachten.

The House of Science in Darfeld – a special location for exhibitions and knowledge transfer.

The House of Science in Darfeld – a special location for exhibitions and knowledge transfer.

48-hour happening “Am I beautiful?”
at the bathing lake in Saerbeck.
Members of the general public and academics are exploring the Recker Moor together to research biodiversity and the role of the moors in the fight against climate change.
Meteorite Watching
Here stood the former train station of Tilbeck
Searching for traces in Münsterland

Searching for traces: Jewish life in Münsterland – an Expedition Münsterland project

Power of Places

It was in 2013 that Expedition Münsterland first went on a search through Münsterland to discover traces of Jewish life in rural areas and to find witnesses. A total of four tours through southern, eastern, western and northern Münsterland led to largely unknown places of German-Jewish history and culture in rural areas. Stops were made at various historical and memorial sites, with places, meanings, (life) history(s), and fates being (re)discovered and commemorated. This expedition is intended to draw attention to people who lived here and who for centuries were part of the places and society. Less than a century ago, Jewish life was a natural part of life in very many places and communities of Münsterland – before it was systematically wiped out between 1933 and 1945, when people were persecuted, driven out, deported and murdered, with only a few hidden traces left to remind us of this life.

Poster of excursion, 2014
Poster of excursion, 2013

work together... to track down interesting places in the region, to prepare them, and to present the results on site

Poster of excursion, 2015
Poster of excursion, 2019

Idea and text: Expedition Münsterland – Wilhelm Bauhus, Nina Nolte

Photo credits: 1 & 7: Universität Münster/AFO; 2, 4-6, 8-13, 15 and design of the posters: Universität Münster/AFO/Andreas Wessendorf; 3 & 14: Prof. Dr. Hermann Dornhege; 16: Wilfried Gerharz

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