Galathea 3 arrives in Nuuk

Dato 6.9.2006

On the morning of Friday, 8 September, the Galathea 3 expedition sailed into Nuuk.

6 September 2006

The ship left Copenhagen on 11 August and in the intervening four weeks research has been conducted both on the high seas and in coastal areas of the Faeroes and South West Greenland.

Galathea 3 is the largest Danish research expedition in over 50 years. VÆDDEREN, who served the Navy in the North Atlantic for many years, will be a floating workplace for several hundred people between now and April 2007. They will include researchers and media specialists, children, technicians and ship’s crew. VÆDDEREN underwent extensive fitting out in the months leading up to her departure to transform her into a modern research ship.

Galathea 3 will give a boost to Danish investigative science. Some of the country’s leading scientific research teams will use this unique opportunity to pursue their particular specialisations, typically within the natural sciences, in a penetrating and multi-faceted way.

This will also be a time to demonstrate the importance of modern science in our lives. Galathea 3 is here to transmit a particularly exciting form of education to primary and secondary schools: natural science experiments which capture the imagination and represent direct involvement. This is the reason why you will see school pupils, teachers and other educational experts on board the VÆDDEREN. Competitions have been held and pupils from primary and post-secondary schools, including those in Greenland, have won places to accompany the expedition for part of the way.

The Nuuk stopover will last until Monday 11 September with a programme that includes a local press briefing on board VÆDDEREN on Friday at 10.00 hours. The following days feature:

Saturday 9 September

10.00-11.00: Presentation of Greenland’s new Galathea stamp. Place: VÆDDEREN

19.30-21.00: Galathea evening. Lecture on Galathea 3 and the research being done. Place: Kulturhuset Katuaq (Cultural House), orchestral hall.

Saturday 10 September

14.00-17.00: VÆDDEREN holds open house – researchers and crew show visitors round

Saturday 11 September

20.00: VÆDDEREN sails.  Next stop: the Azores...

The Danish Expedition Foundation | info@galathea3.dk