The exhibition invites visitors to discover invasive alien species found in Latvia that pose a threat to biodiversity and natural values by stepping into the role of an eco-detective in an engaging interactive game. “Eco-Detective” is open at the “Botania” Nature Education Centre from Wednesday to Sunday, 9:00–17:00, and can be visited with a regular admission ticket to the National Botanic Garden.
The exhibition has been designed as an active, multisensory experience in which visitors are more than just spectators. It encourages them to move, search, compare, listen, touch and find answers for themselves. The exhibition primarily uses analogue, hands-on interactive elements, allowing visitors to explore the topic of invasive alien species through direct experience and different senses – sight, hearing and touch. Drawing on the world of detective investigations, it features case files, an investigator’s board and the search for tracks and clues, combining educational content with an entertaining experience. Comic-book aesthetics and humour complement the exhibition’s visual language, making the subject accessible and engaging for visitors of different ages.
“The ‘Eco-Detective’ exhibition promotes awareness and engagement in an engaging and unconventional way. Invasive alien species pose a serious threat to biodiversity in Latvia, and only by working together can we limit their spread. The exhibition aims to do more than simply explain what invasive alien species are. It encourages visitors to learn how to recognise them and spot them beyond the exhibition itself – in parks, forests, gardens or on everyday walks. The real investigation begins when visitors take their eco-detective skills out into nature and put them into practice,” emphasises Ieva Saleniece, Project Manager of LatViaNature at the Nature Conservation Agency.
The exhibition will remain at the “Botania” Nature Education Centre until August next year. It will then travel to the Daugavpils Innovation Centre and the Nature Conservation Agency’s nature centre of the North Vidzeme Biosphere Reserve in Salacgrīva.
The exhibition was developed by the LatViaNature project team and produced by Story Hub Ltd.
More information about invasive alien plant and animal species found in Latvia is available at the Nature Conservation Agency’s dedicated website www.invazivs.lv
.
