Heureka reigns in the Earth from the heavens for its visitors

Heureka revolutionizes the means of presenting global natural phenomena in Finland with the introduction of Science On a Sphere (SOS), a sphere projection technique developed in the United States by the National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration (NOAA). More than 150 broad illustrations depicting the oceans, climate, continents and astronomy can be projected onto the surface of a glowing sphere. The sphere provides a global look at, for example, weather conditions, atmospheric gases, earthquakes, ocean currents, glacial areas and ocean temperatures.

“The sphere comes to life within the light beams from four video projectors guided by five computers. This system is unique in Europe; only the Cité des Sciences et l'industrie in Paris has a similar system in use, and that system was introduced at the end of June,” explains Per-Edvin Persson, Director of Heureka.

The main sponsors of the SOS project are Vaisala Group and the Finnish Foundation for Technology Promotion. Each sponsor has donated one third of the total expenses of approximately 600,000 euro for the implementation of this project.

“Science On a Sphere represents an especially impressive manner for presenting weather phenomena, which are central to all of Vaisala’s operations. We are more than pleased to be involved in increasing the knowledge of Heureka’s visitors regarding the state of our climate as well as the generating and developmental mechanisms involved in natural phenomena,” states Kjell Forsén, President and CEO of Vaisala.

SOS will open officially on 2 September 2009. Heureka’s guides will use the sphere to demonstrate illustrative software: modelling and simulations, as well as real-time information and forecasts. The explainers and the visitors can use this to investigate, for example, global weather forecasts for the following week or real-time satellite data detailing the movements of clouds, humidity, earthquakes and changes in the ice coverage around the world. Additionally, SOS simulates principal natural phenomena either automatically or in accordance with selections made from the control panel.

As a member of the global SOS network, Heureka is actively involved in creating and developing new programmes.

Further information:
Mikko Myllykoski, Experience Director, Heureka, tel. +358 (0)40 901 5244, mikko.myllykoski@heureka.fi 
Helena Marjaranta, Senior Vice President, Communications, Vaisala Group, tel. +358 (0)40 581 9102, helena.marjaranta@vaisala.com
Tapani Koivumäki, Attorney, Finnish Foundation for Technology Promotion, tel. +358 (0)10 60 63722, tapani.koivumaki@tem.fi

Vaisala
Vaisala is a global leader in environmental and industrial measurement. Building on more than 70 years of experience, Vaisala contributes to a better quality of life by providing a comprehensive range of innovative observation and measurement products and services for meteorology, weather critical operations and controlled environments. Based in Finland, the company employs more than 1,200 professionals around the world and is listed on the NASDAQ OMX Helsinki stock exchange. www.vaisala.com   

Finnish Foundation for Technology Promotion
The purpose of the Finnish Foundation for Technology Promotion (TES) is to promote technological development in Finland by supporting relevant training and research activities as well as by contributing to the general advancement of technical capabilities within various fields of business with consideration for the overall crucial tasks at any given time.