The interactive Kon.Screen – a joint project of the University of Konstanz, the City of Konstanz, and the University of Applied Sciences Konstanz (HTWG) – is a freely and easily accessible media installation that presents the University of Konstanz’s research at changing, popular locations in and around Konstanz. Anyone who takes a seat in the Kon.Screen can experience hands-on science presented on large displays, learn about the latest research projects at the University of Konstanz – or simply find a comfortable place to rest and relax. Using the free Kon.Screen app, visitors can turn their smartphones into remote controls to interact with the Kon.Screen and select the topics that interest them most.
An interdisciplinary team of students from the two universities involved substantially contributed to the conception and development of the Kon.Screen. Currently, the three black pentagons that constitute the interactive media installation can be found in the “Stadtgarten” – an artificial peninsula with a park – in the city centre of Konstanz.
The Kon.Screen focuses on one of the main areas of research at the University of Konstanz. The focus will change over time. Right now – in the Stadtgarten – it is on the collective behaviour of animals: How do flocks of birds or schools of fish manage to move in perfect synchrony and coordinate as a swarm? How do migratory birds find their way? What technologies are used to explore and investigate the collective behaviour of animals at different scales? These are some of the questions that visitors of the Kon.Screen can currently find answers to.
In order to reach as broad an audience as possible and to give everyone in the region the opportunity to visit the Kon.Screen, the installation will change location between popular destinations in and around Konstanz every three months. The next location of the Kon.Screen will be Mainau Island – a tourist hotspot on the shores of Lake Constance – known for its parks and gardens.
For a time lapse video of the Kon.Screen’s construction and the opening ceremony in the Stadtgarten, visit the YouTube channel of the University of Konstanz.
Contact information: University of Konstanz, Communications and Marketing; email: kum@uni-konstanz.de
Cover: In June 2021, Professor Katharina Holzinger (3rd from the left), rector of the University of Konstanz, and Uli Burchardt (2nd from the left), mayor of Konstanz, officially inaugurated the Kon.Screen.
