Modelling with the Geowindow

The Geowindow offers an infrastructure to create analog models in geographic contexts, it is a “test tube” for visualization; not only of static images but also to display processes in the Earth system. Thus, it is an interactive teaching and learning device for all Earth Sciences. Due to their enormous temporal and spatial dimensions, most of the complex structures and processes in the context of the earth´s systems and cycles cannot be observed directly. In addition, many geoscientific phenomena remain hidden below the surface. The Geowindow is an innovative tool for geography lessons allowing to visualizing dynamic and systematic processes of the Earth system. The potential to simulate human impacts on different scales offers a wide range to support an education for sustainable development. During the last years, the Geowindow has been further developed in a professional way. It offers the experimental infrastructure for modelling many geoscientific structures and processes and is suitable as a teaching and learning tool for all types of schools, as well as for earth science courses in higher education. The presentation introduces the technical features and various methodological options of the Geowindow. Secondly, we will demonstrate how a geowindow can be used to model different geoscientific processes like the formation of coal, the formation of groundwater or the Eruption of a stratovolcano. Eventually, we present our project website, which provides tutorials, demonstrations, movies and written guides to support the classroom implementation.