Memento mori: On living, aging and dying (October 11, 2024 - May 28, 2025)
"Memento mori" – this saying originating in ancient Rome reminds us to become aware of our own mortality and act accordingly. Yet even though people often fear death, dying per se isn't necessarily a bad thing. The death of an organism is an integral part of life. It creates space for the spread of other living beings and thus makes the evolution of species possible in the first place. But why does everything have to die? What are the biological reasons for aging and death? And can death perhaps ultimately be overcome through medicine and research? The exhibition "Memento mori: On Life, Aging, and Dying" at the Aquazoo Löbbecke Museum addressed the central questions of human existence and that of all other living beings – and even provided insights into what happens after death.
In the context of this special exhibition, the Aquazoo Löbbecke Museum offered an extensive accompanying program, including two online lectures on wild animal carcass ecology by Dr. Christian von Hoermann and on the biology of aging by Dr. Maren Berghoff, both of which are available on the Aquazoo's YouTube channel.
For all those who were unable to visit our exhibition "Memento mori", we offer the 360-degree exhibition a digital version.
Giants of the Atlantic (April 25, 2023 - September 5, 2023)
The giants of the sea – whales and dolphins, sharks, and rays – are disappearing from our oceans. Yet they are incredibly important for the ocean habitat. However, there are some remote places where these fascinating animals can still be discovered. In the summer of 2022, an expedition team led by marine biologists Lukas Müller and Lennart Voßgätter captured these fascinating predators on camera. The freedivers managed to get particularly close to the animals with a single breath, capturing unique perspectives.
Sex and Gender (29 October 2022 - 2 April 2023)
It's one of those topics that has heated debate for years: gender. Since 2018, "diverse" has been a third gender option recognized under German law alongside male and female. But many people still have unanswered questions: Are there really more than two genders? What is the "third gender"? What is "normal"? What is "natural"? This special exhibition focuses on our closest relatives, i.e. other animals. They truly have everything: spontaneous gender reversal, males who have children, congenital bisexuality, even half-male and half-female individuals, and even females who can survive without a partner altogether. The exhibition shows how genders differ in animals and explains why they exist and how they develop.
For all those who were unable to visit our exhibition "Sex and Gender", we offer the 360-degree exhibition a digital version.
Shells, snails, pill boxes (October 31, 2020 - March 31, 2021)
The “Loebbeckeanum” was once a small private museum on Schadowstraße in Düsseldorf. It was founded by Theodor Löbbecke, who was a pharmacist in Duisburg for many years and also an avid collector of conch shells, the shells of mussels and snails. Over the course of his life, he collected over 170.000 specimens from approximately 70.000 species. The Loebbeckeanum was the direct predecessor of today's Aquazoo Löbbecke Museum, which naturally makes Löbbecke a very special person for the institute. His valuable collection is still kept there today. To mark Löbbecke's 200th birthday, the special exhibition addresses the question of what drives people - like Löbbecke - to amass thousands of shells in private collections. To approach this question, 50 current collectors were interviewed about why they collect. The exhibition was created from their answers and now reports on distant journeys, close friendships, the diversity and beauty of shells and other things that motivate collectors to follow their passion for collecting shells and snails. Of course, the exhibition also provides insights into Löbbecke's life and collecting activities.