Since 2020, an interactive exhibition in Freiberg has taken you on a journey into the world of raw materials. Entitled "Vom Salz des Lebens" (Of the salt of life), it becomes playfully comprehensible that the world we live in exists, develops and changes through the extraction and use of raw materials. At eight stations, visitors are taken on a journey into the multi-layered world of raw materials: across the earth, through Germany, but above all into their own living environment. The exhibition provides facts, astonishes and provokes questions: Where do the raw materials for mobile phones, bicycles and the like come from? How much raw material mining do I cause? How scarce are the earth's raw materials?
Contact and Approach
The exhibition is currently located in the middle of the TU Bergakademie Freiberg campus in a state-of-the-art research centre:
Zentrum für effiziente Hochtemperaturforschung (ZeHS)
Winklerstraße 5
09599 Freiberg
Contact Person:
Wolfgang Gaßner
Institute of Mining Engineering and Special Civil Engineering
Gustav-Zeuner-Str. 1A
09599 Freiberg
+49 3731 394319
salzdeslebens [at] tu-freiberg [dot] de (salzdeslebens[at]tu-freiberg[dot]de)
A visit is only possible by appointment. Please contact us by e-mail at:
salzdeslebens [at] tu-freiberg [dot] de (salzdeslebens[at]tu-freiberg[dot]de)
Offerings
For school groups, we offer guided tours of up to 90 minutes as well as work materials. We organise some lectures and events together with our partners. You can use the exhibition as a framework for your event or include it in excursions etc.
Lessons in the exhibition - with a guided tour and working materials
In principle, we offer school classes of secondary levels 1 and 2 a tour with or without materials that the pupils can work out themselves under guidance.
- Guided tour "Journey into the world of raw materials" with and without corresponding working materials,
- Working materials related to the exhibition that not only guide you through the exhibition independently, but also support reflection on the knowledge journey in the exhibition.
A reference to the curriculum is given in particular for the subjects geography, chemistry and social studies or economics as well as for interdisciplinary lessons. For these subjects, the following references exist in particular:
Raw materials as the basis of life are considered in terms of their origin, significance and consequences of their use, which is intended to support education for the responsible use of natural resources. The geographical classification, e.g. where they come from or which raw materials are mined in Germany and Saxony, is given a special focus.
Curriculum reference: for 5th grade, e.g., "Tiefland" lesson on lignite as a raw material in the context of other raw materials, "Leben in der Einen Welt" (Life in One World) in the secondary school lessons, "Rund um die Bodenschätze Sachsens" (All about Saxony's mineral resources) in the 10th grade, and "Ressourcen und ihre Nutzung" (Resources and their use) in the 11th grade in the grammar school lessons.
The pupils not only get an overview, but also specific examples of the versatile use of different raw materials and technical solutions resulting from the material properties.
Curriculum reference: suitable, for example, in the 7th grade lesson "Metals - from aluminium to zinc" with documentation of fact sheets on various substances, 8th grade "Common salt and other salts" or also 11th grade lesson "Substances - from diversity to order" as well as learning areas of the secondary school "Substances that surround us" or "Ordering substances".
The technical input on the use of raw materials and the importance of regionality and globality provides a knowledge base for a debate on the sustainable use of raw materials and on expectations for future development.
Curriculum reference: for example in the Gymnasium WB "A current controversy in society" on the use of raw materials in grade 7 or LB "International politics in the globalised world" in grade 11, WB "Economy and ecology" in grade 12 and in the Oberschule WB "News from politics and society" or "Young people as market participants".
Book and accompanying brochure
The raw materials exhibition is also available in printed form. In addition to the accompanying brochure, which provides you with exciting additional information about the exhibition, we especially recommend the book "Reise in die Welt der Rohstoffe" by Prof. Carsten Drebenstedt.
It presents well-founded facts in entertaining graphics and texts. On 118 pages, 30 selected individual topics show how the treasures of our earth have shaped the history of mankind. For example, the beginning of the year 2022 has shown how quickly the situation of a secure and affordable supply of raw materials can change.
The book can be ordered at salzdeslebens [at] tu-freiberg [dot] de (salzdeslebens[at]tu-freiberg[dot]de) for 15 euros.
Our accompanying brochure - for you
