luontokeskus

Luontokeskus is a nature and science center located in three places in Finland: Espoo, Joensuu, and Lahti. The Kirunavaara mine in Rovaniemi, Lapland is also under design. The center is established by the Finnish heritage foundation Sitra as a way to make a more sustainable society. The locations are chosen for their unique nature, being situated close to the three different regional universities.

The Nature and Science Center's purpose is to educate people about nature, technology, and sciences and how they interact with each other. It also aims to make people more aware of their impact on the environment and how people and technology interact with nature. It is designed as a three-floor structure where one floor is the experience hall, another is the activity hall, and the bottom floor is the restaurant.

In the experience hall, visitors can interact with 3D models of existing environments such as eucalyptus forests, Canary Islands savanna, and Venice. They use near-infrared spectroscopy to inform visitors about the status of plants they are in contact with and how different climates affect plant life. There are digital wall displays that demonstrate the result of people's activities on the environment.

The activity hall allows visitors to directly engage in hands-on activities and projects with other people. In this hall, people can design and participate in nature activities such as sea grass harvesting, or witness activities such as training wolves experimentally. The hall is flexible enough to cater to the needs and interests of the people present.

The restaurant in the bottom floor serves local, organic food which helps people in experiencing a sustainable society firsthand through eating.