Photo by Collectie NIMH
Learning from Past Weather
Huygens Institute KNAW, Amsterdam (NL), 2024
An untapped treasure of weather data is made accessible to the public. In doing so, we contribute to a better understanding of climate change.
From archive to insight
For centuries, the Royal Netherlands Navy kept precise weather observations. Four hundred meters of ship logbooks are stored in the National Archives. The project ‘Learning from Past Weather’ makes this valuable data accessible. Through smart technology and the help of volunteer citizen scientists, the handwritten observations are transformed into digital climate information. The volunteers choose a ship, a voyage, discover life on board, and examine the logbooks to verify the climate records. This creates usable data for climate scientists.
Photo by Noske, J.D., Nationaal Archief / Anefo
Photo by Facts & Files (DE). CC BY-SA 4.0
From science to society
Climate scientists will conduct research using this new data. But the impact of this research extends far beyond the scientific community—climate change affects us all. The research findings are made tangible in collaboration with museums and educational institutions. With partners such as Codam, the University of the Netherlands, and the Nemo Science Museum, we will create hackathons, podcasts, lectures, and exhibitions.
Animation by Shosho
Building climate awareness together
This project demonstrates how science and society can collaborate. Historical data plays a key role in understanding contemporary issues, and technology and public participation makes this data legible. Together, we bring the past to life—and build a better understanding of the climate.
Photo by Joop van Bilsen, Nationaal Archief / Anefo
Bidbook and video
Studio Louter helped develop a public engagement strategy and devised ways to actively involve citizen scientists in the research. We created a bidbook that clearly explains the research and convincingly presents its social value to potential funders and partners. We also translated this into a video.
Credits
Client
Huygens Institute (KNAW) in collaboration with University of Twente, the Nationaal Archief and the KNMIContent Design
Studio LouterGraphic Design & production
VechtlustAnimation
Shosho