Finally, the day arrived!

Exactly a week ago the App-Launch Event took place in the installations of the Rammelsberg Mine Museum. The Glückauf Project Team was able to present its final prototype, evaluate the first impressions, discuss future development and improvements to achieve together a fully 1.0 App-version.

The presentation, stared by our team members, started a role-play where two museum visitors discussed how nice the tour was and how mining has no longer future as an industry and especially in a country like Germany where all coal mines are scheduled to close by the end of the year. Between laughs, all attendees agreed this is a common situation and then the project’s objective could be easily addressed: reduce the existing gap between what people usually think and how mining is, in fact, a reality and also part of the future.

Later, the team members and sponsors were presented. Then, it was time to properly present our App-prototype, functionality, access points, and usability. The Glückauf Project App is offered in two languages, English and German. It includes four (4) main windows: a welcome trivia, a QR code scanner, a Map section, and a Topics section. In the Topics section, the app hosts information of seven (7) different themes which would be accessed by scanning a QR code within the App or by accessing the topics list. The QR codes will be located in different representative points inside the museums surface area which visitors can access after participating in the different tours and explore the actual and future world of mining. Within the App, users will be able to find a trivia staring twenty-nine (29) points of mines and/or closure projects all over the world, to later be able to look for its locations in the Map section.

The seven (7) themes are Health & Safety, Sustainability in Mining, Ore and its products, Mine Ventilation, Mining Methods, Water & Energy, and Mining Machinery. Each theme includes common related questions to promote dynamic reading for example: will I die by working in mining? or why did coal mines closed?. Afterwards a new role-play followed where the two museum visitors from the beginning found information about the App, downloaded it and enjoyed the time investigating and reading about the actual world of mining and its future trends.

Finally, the attendees were invited to test the App by themselves and to fill a feedback form. The feedback form required our guests to define how much they liked the app or not, how they think the app can fulfill the project principal objectives, what they liked the most and at least, further recommendations and new functionalities they wish the app would have.

Between guests, we were honored by the participation of the museum tour guides, members of its board of management (Aufsichtsrat), TU Clausthal researchers,  students, and Univ.-Prof.Dr.-Ing. Oliver Langefeld from the Mining Institute. Unfortunately, our lovely mascot was not able to join us due to safety reasons within the museum, but she cheered the team from home.

Congratulations Glückauf Project Team!

Thank you to all the attendees for participating, for sharing your feedback and for the good mood!

If you want to know more about the feedback results stay tuned for our next blog post.