General Assembly 2009

Zürich, 14th May 2009

The 2009 General Assembly of Forum VERA took place on Thursday 14th May. The attendees were treated to a tour through focusTerra by Dr. Peter Brack; the exhibition is housed in the newly renovated building of the Swiss Federal Institute of Technology (ETH) in Soneggstrasse in Zürich. Our photo report gives an impression of what focusTerra has to offer …

The venue – the newly renovated north building of the Swiss Federal Institute of Technology (ETH) in Zürich, which houses the Department of Earth Sciences
The focusTerra tower - the Earth Science Research and Information Centre of the ETH
Dr. Markus Meyer opens the tour …
… and gives some information on the host for the evening – the Department of Earth Sciences of the ETH
The curator and creator of the exhibition Dr. Peter Brack welcomes the guests to the tour
focusTerra has three exhibition levels. The first level is dedicated to the dynamics of the Earth - the formation of the Earth and the processes occurring within the Earth's interior
A 4.6 billion year old grain of stardust from a meteorite – older than our solar system – is one of the fascinating exhibits at focusTerra
A rare iron meteorite with crystalline inclusions
An explanation of the Earth's magnetic field
Caution – strong magnets!
Dr. Brack explains the surprisingly frequent changes in the Earth's magnetic field using this show experiment
This needs a closer look!
Dr. Brack explains a landscape model showing the relief of the Swiss Alps
The impressive model shows the layering of the Earth's mantle caused by the collision of the continental plates. The coloured illustration on the back wall shows how high the Alps would be without the eroding effects of water, ice, wind and weather
This model shows …
… why the Earth's mantle is significantly thicker above folded mountain ranges such as our Alps
Real-time display of earth tremors around the world …
… and not only those that are caused by earthquakes!
This model shows how earthquakes propagate in the interior of the Earth
This eye-catching circular projection is located in the corridor leading to the next floor of the exhibition tower. It shows the movement of tectonic plates during the course of the Earth's history
This area of focusTerra is dedicated to the treasures of the Earth
Spectacular exhibits such as this huge rock crystal …
… are part of an impressive mineral and crystal collection
The glass cylinder in which new crystals form constantly in a saturated solution is like a piece of artwork