Meet an astronaut!!! The German Embassy Windhoek and the Scientific Society Swakopmund cordially invite you to this unique opportunity here in Swakopmund! Dr Matthias Maurer, a German Astronaut of the European Space Agency, spent 177 days on the International Space Station (ISS) in 2022. Currently, he is preparing for his next big project – the Artemis mission to the Moon. Dr Maurer will talk about his time on the ISS and share his vision about the future of human spacefaring. Members of the Scientific Society Swakopmund can register via office@sciswk.com until 6 October, 11:00am, to reserve a seat. Kindly note that you will receive a reply from us wether your reservation was successful.

- Presenter Dr Matthias Maurer
- Venue: Namib Primary School Aula

The Central Namib Desert is one of the world's most extreme environments, yet it supports a remarkable diversity of plants adapted to its hyper-arid conditions. Much of the region's flora remains poorly documented, partly because many species only appear and flower after rare rainfall events that may occur just once a decade. In 2023, the "Flora of the Central Namib Desert" project was initiated to comprehensively document all plant species in the region. Floras provide the essential foundation for understanding and conserving plant diversity, bringing together species descriptions, identification tools, ecological information, and specimen records. This talk discusses progress towards completion of the Flora-assessment, and the user-friendly field guide that will follow. It also showcases some of the unique plants and habitats of the Central Namib, revealing the rich botanical diversity often overlooked within this seemingly inhospitable landscape. Sebastian is a plant taxonomist based at the Royal Botanic Gardens, Kew (UK), working on a variety of taxonomic groups and regions, currently speciose genera in New Guinea. He has also studied the evolution, ecology, systematics and taxonomy of parasitic plants. Sebastian has a passionate interest in the flora and ecosystems of Namibia, in particular the Namib Desert. Since 2023, he has been working with Gobabeb to write "Flora of the Central Namib Desert". He has also re-curated, digitised and officialised the Gobabeb Herbarium (GBB), which houses nearly 2,600 specimens, largely Namib Desert plants. Additionally, Sebastian has worked together with Gobabeb on the conservation of the stone plant, Lithops gracilidelineata, conducting population surveys across its native range, completing an IUCN Red List Assessment for the plant, and describing a new subspecies of L. gracilidelineata from the Kunene region.

- Presenter Dr Sebastian Hatt
- Venue: Swakopmund Museum Lecture Hall

Naturschutz und Trophäenjagd, zwei immer gegenwärtige Themen in Namibia! Naturschutz durch Trophäenjagd? Dr. Siege beschäftigt sich mit verschiedenen Diskussionspunkten wie unter anderem Eigenfinanzierung oder Subventionen, Safarijagd, nachhaltiger Jagd, kommunaler Wildbewirtschaftung und Mensch-Tier Konflikt.

- Presenter Dr Ludwig Siege
- Venue: Swakopmund Museum Lecture Hall

Teacher Workshop – Interactive lesson ideas, museum resources and curriculum-aligned strategies (𝟭𝟳 or 𝟭𝟴 𝗦𝗲𝗽𝘁𝗲𝗺𝗯𝗲𝗿, afternoons by registration) 𝗥𝗦𝗩𝗣 & 𝗥𝗲𝗴𝗶𝘀𝘁𝗿𝗮𝘁𝗶𝗼𝗻: 𝟬𝟴𝟭 𝟮𝟵𝟰 𝟳𝟯𝟰𝟰 𝗼𝗿 𝗻𝗮𝗱𝗶𝗻𝗲.𝗽@𝘀𝗰𝗶𝘀𝘄𝗸.𝗰𝗼𝗺

- Presenter Swakopmund Museum
- Venue: Swakopmund Museum

Bringing history, science, and culture directly into schools (𝟭𝟳 or 𝟭𝟴 𝗦𝗲𝗽𝘁𝗲𝗺𝗯𝗲𝗿, mornings by appointment) 𝗥𝗦𝗩𝗣 & 𝗥𝗲𝗴𝗶𝘀𝘁𝗿𝗮𝘁𝗶𝗼𝗻: 𝟬𝟴𝟭 𝟮𝟵𝟰 𝟳𝟯𝟰𝟰 𝗼𝗿 𝗻𝗮𝗱𝗶𝗻𝗲.𝗽@𝘀𝗰𝗶𝘀𝘄𝗸.𝗰𝗼𝗺

- Presenter Swakopmund Museum
- Venue: Schools on appointment