SAIL Den Helder, which starts on Thursday, looks set to be one of the year's most popular events in the Netherlands. NIOO is joining the nautical fun as part of the 'travelling sustainable village' SummerLabb. Highlights will include the launch of Climate Pursuit, a new game developed by NIOO researcher Marleen Cobben.


Climate Pursuit

The focus at the NIOO-stand will be firmly on stories about climate research, ranging from the effects of climate change on great tit chicks in the nest to toxic algal blooms and greenhouse gas emissions from the soil.

Through these stories, visitors will get a taste of what happens when climate change really digs in. But don't expect sombre and boring lectures: the NIOO-stand will first and foremost be 'hands-on' and 'head-on'.

Climate Pursuit

You're going to need both - your hands and your head - for Climate Pursuit, a new online game based on an original idea by Marleen Cobben (NIOO-KNAW, department of Terrestrial Ecology).

Ever wonder what it's like to be a rat? Or a bird? Or a flower? The game lets you play as one of three different species. Your mission is to survive 100 years of climate change, and we're not giving anything away by saying that it's not going to be easy.

Much depends on strategy and how you play the game: as the clock ticks away the years, the tension rises. But it's also a fascinating sneak peek at effects you wouldn't normally experience - because you're not an animal or a plant, and because most humans probably won't live to 100.

Oil platform

You can play Climate Pursuit on your own PC right now (in Dutch) by going to this address. But if you come to the official launch of the game at SAIL Den Helder, you'll be able to experience it in unique surroundings.

The SummerLabb festival village is located on an actual oil rig at the Nieuwediepkade in the port of Den Helder: Paragon C462. You enter the enormous steel hulk, which weighs as much as six thousand (!) cars, by climbing a ladder. Keep following the Green Line to the Future and you can't miss Climate Pursuit or the NIOO-stand.

Other SummerLabb stands feature an energy quiz, a seaweed exhibition and presentations on new ways to use sustainable energy. SAIL Den Helder begins this Thursday and ends on Sunday 25 June. So hope to see you there!