What goes through your mind as you look back on the end of the exhibition?

Sandra Naumann: To be completely honest: I’m mostly sad. Mainly because we had many ideas for further development that we can no longer implement. The topics remain relevant, and we could easily have continued the exhibition for many more years. There were also regular inquiries from museums that wanted to host “Power2Change.”

 

How did you get involved with “Power2Change” back then, and what was the idea behind the project?

Sandra Naumann: I actually didn’t join until a few months after the official project launch. At my first meeting, I suddenly found myself right in the middle of a network of people with completely different professional backgrounds. That’s exactly what I found exciting from the very beginning. Researchers, museum professionals, communications experts and many other stakeholders were all sitting together.

The basic idea behind the project was clear: We wanted to make research on the energy transition visible and explain complex interrelationships in a way that as many people as possible could understand. It wasn’t just about renewable energy, but also about topics like climate-neutral industry, hydrogen and the transformation of transportation and buildings. Many of these aspects play a relatively minor role in the public debate, but they’re crucial for the energy transition.

 

What was your role in the project?

Sandra Naumann: At the beginning, I was the head of the project’s central office, working together with a colleague from DECHEMA. Initially, this involved many organizational and administrative tasks. Over time, more and more coordinating and substantive tasks were added. It wasn’t just about organizing processes, but also about bringing the various partners together, coordinating the exchange of ideas and ensuring that everyone was working toward the same goal.

Whenever things got stuck, I was often the one who tried to find the cause and facilitate solutions. In a joint research project with many participants, there are always situations where things stall. An important part of my work was therefore to clear away such hurdles and “keep everything running smoothly.”

 

What was the biggest challenge in that regard?

Sandra Naumann: Bringing together the different ways of thinking and technical jargon.

In a project like this, people from very different disciplines work together. It’s not enough to simply use the same terms. Often, different fields mean different things by the same words or use terms that others aren’t even familiar with.

So I often found myself translating – not between languages, but between academic cultures. But for me, that was precisely what made the project so appealing. Researchers, museum professionals, communications experts and educators all bring very different perspectives to the table. When we succeed in creating something new together from these perspectives, it’s incredibly enriching.

 

Ultimately, this translation work was also the exhibition’s mission. How can we successfully convey complex topics related to the energy transition in an understandable way?

Sandra Naumann: That was actually one of the most exciting aspects of the entire project.

We had to be prepared to greatly simplify and condense the content. From a scientific standpoint, you want to be as precise as possible. At the same time, an exhibition must be designed so that people with very different levels of prior knowledge can follow along.

Sometimes we had to take shortcuts and present facts in a simplified way. Not because scientific accuracy isn’t important, but because clarity is a prerequisite for people to engage with a topic in the first place. Finding the right balance between accuracy and clarity was often a real balancing act.

 

The exhibition was intended to inspire and inform people about the energy transition. Do you think it succeeded in doing so?

Sandra Naumann: The accompanying research suggests so. Many visitors left the exhibition with more knowledge about the energy transition and with greater confidence in its feasibility. At the same time, we learned that some of the content was very complex and that we need to focus even more on making connections to everyday life.

I found it interesting that many people were primarily interested in concrete solutions: hydrogen, climate-neutral industry, the regional impacts of the energy transition, or the question of how they themselves can contribute to its success. At the same time, there were frequent calls for more positive examples of successful energy transition projects.

 

What message should visitors take away in particular?

Sandra Naumann: For me, the most important message was: The energy transition is achievable—if research and society work together on it. It involves far more than just expanding wind and solar energy. It also concerns industry, transportation, buildings and our entire energy system. Research and innovation play a key role in this. At the same time, the transformation requires the collaboration of many stakeholders – from politics and business to each and every individual.

 

The project also included an extensive supporting program. Which format impressed you the most?

Sandra Naumann: Definitely the "Energiemobil". Whenever I talk about successful science communication today, I always mention it. The concept was simply outstanding: a mobile space for discussions about the energy transition, science and social issues that comes directly to the people. The Energiemobil traveled to town squares in small towns just as often as it did to large events or festivals. The response was enormous. People were able to share their hopes, questions and concerns. For me, that was one of the most powerful elements of the entire project.

 

“Power2Change” was on display at many locations across Germany. What was your experience with the traveling exhibition concept?

Sandra Naumann: I was impressed by how differently the same exhibition can come across. Each location had its own atmosphere and, in some cases, attracted different groups of visitors. This was evident not only in day-to-day practice but also in the accompanying research. The choice of exhibition venue does indeed influence which people are reached. I found it particularly fascinating to see how the exhibition was integrated into the existing spaces at each location. Although the content remained the same, each location offered a slightly different experience.

 

Is there a moment you’re particularly proud of or that you especially enjoy remembering?

Sandra Naumann: The first time we set up the exhibition in Hattingen. Before that, we’d seen concepts, drawings and individual elements. When the exhibition was fully set up for the first time, the project suddenly became tangible. All of a sudden, you could see what all those ideas actually looked like and how they worked together. That was the moment when all the individual parts came together to form a real exhibition.

 

Which research topics from Fraunhofer UMSICHT were particularly prominent?

Sandra Naumann: Carbon2Chem^® played an important role. The project was featured in the “Recycling” theme area. There, it was demonstrated how carbon dioxide from industrial processes can be used to produce, for example, methanol or other chemical feedstocks. This allowed visitors to understand how research is working on concrete solutions for the energy transition.

 

How has your personal perspective on the energy transition changed?

Sandra Naumann: By engaging deeply with the topic, you become much more aware of many things.

I take the bus and train more often now, and I’ve generally noticed that my awareness of how things are connected has sharpened.

Above all, I’ve learned that science communication isn’t just about facts. People bring their own experiences, hopes and concerns to the table. Good communication, therefore, also means listening and taking different perspectives seriously.

 

What personal takeaway do you draw from four years of “Power2Change”?

Sandra Naumann: For me, the project was above all an example of how enriching collaboration between very different people can be. I’ve learned how important it is to listen, ask questions and build bridges between different perspectives. To this day, that’s exactly what successful science communication means to me.

And perhaps that’s also what I’ll miss the most: this shared struggle to make complex topics understandable and to inspire people to shape the future. To be completely honest: I could have kept working on “Power2Change” and “Science Communication on the energy transition” until I retired.

 

Background

The traveling exhibition “Power2Change: Mission Energy Transition” was created as part of the joint research project “Science Communication on the Energy Transition,” funded by the German Federal Ministry of Research, Technology and Space (BMFTR) – coordinated by Fraunhofer UMSICHT and DECHEMA e. V. The exhibition was developed in collaboration with the LWL Industrial Museum and the Klimahaus^® in Bremerhaven. “Wissenschaft im Dialog” was responsible for project communication and the supporting program. The scientific content was provided by the Kopernikus projects, the joint research project Carbon2Chem^®in collaboration with Fraunhofer UMSICHT, the Fraunhofer CINES cluster and other partners. Communication science support was provided by the Technische Universität Ilmenau.