Saarland’s prehistoric theme park, GONDWANA – Das Praehistorium, has beaten its target of 200,000 visitors in 2009, its first year of operation. “We are delighted that, with a total of 200,222 visitors at the end of our first year, we have exceeded our own forecasts”, says Matthias Michael Kuhl, the park’s Managing Director.

Approximately 50 per cent of visitors to the attraction are from the Saarland, the remainder is drawn from Rhineland-Palatinate and the neighbouring countries France and Luxembourg. But visitors are also coming from Hesse, North Rhine-Westphalia and Baden-Württemberg.

In order to make the park even more attractive for its visitors, the management is now planning the construction of an additional exhibition hall. Following development of a detailed concept and design, the new hall is now scheduled to be completed by the end of 2011. “Of course, this is quite a challenge, but it is important to set yourself a target to work towards. We want to create a kind of show arena, in which to present another climax point in the history of evolution – the large dinosaurs from the Jurassic and late Cretaceous period.” explains Kuhl.

Between 4 January and 14 March 2010, GONDWANA – Das Praehistorium is offering its family ticket for the promotional price of just 30 euros. This means that two adults and up to two children will be able to visit the theme park at a much reduced cost. Each additional child pays only 6 euros in conjunction with a family ticket.

“The first few months of the year can often be a financially difficult time for families. We want to offer parents and children an opportunity to leave their everyday concerns behind for a day and take a very special trip back in time – at an affordable price”, says Matthias Michael Kuhl, owner and creator of GONDWANA – Das Praehistorium. Families visiting the exhibition on a Wednesday at 3.00pm will be able to save twice. On Wednesday afternoons, every visitor who has purchased a day ticket is entitled to attend the two-hour guided tour of the exhibition halls completely free of charge.

And now there are even more ways to save, thanks to GONDWANA’s new partnership with McDonald’s restaurants in the Saarland. Between 1 January and 31 March 2010, every Happy Meal purchased in a McDonalds restaurant anywhere in the Saarland will automatically include a voucher entitling one child to free entrance at GONDWANA. “Following successful trials and a pilot with McDonalds branches of the Getrey group, with very positive results, we have now extended our voucher campaign to include all McDonalds restaurants in the Saarland”, explains Matthias Michael Kuhl.

Reden/Frankfurt, 18 December 2009.
Saarland’s prehistoric theme park GONDWANA – Das Praehistorium will be open on Mondays during all school holidays in 2009 and 2010. In addition to the “holiday specials” and the normal opening times, fans of GONDWANA – Das Praehistorium longing to come eye to eye with Argentinosaurus and T-Rex, and to experience four and a half billion years of geological history, will also be able to visit the attraction on the following days: 28th December 2009, 4th January 2010, 15th February 2010 (Rosenmontag/Shrove Monday), 5th April 2010 (Easter Monday) and 24th May 2010 (Pentecost).
Matthias Michael Kuhl, Managing Director of the park, is delighted: “We have extended our opening times in response to the strong visitor interest. Especially for families, this will present a perfect opportunity to combine the holidays with a short trip into the history of life on our planet.”

Pleased about the positive response to his prehistoric theme park: Matthias Michael Kuhl (on the right), Managing Director of GONDWANA – Das Praehistorium (here with Al Gore, a high-profile visitor at the park’s opening in December 2008).		Apart from prehistoric animals, visitors to the exhibition halls at GONDWANA – Das Praehistorium can witness the awesome forces of nature, for example gigantic flash floods.

GONDWANA – Das Praehistorium is a unique blend of dinosaur theme park, natural history museum and educational resource. Based in Landsweiler-Reden in the Saarland municipality of Schiffweiler, it offers visitors the opportunity to experience close-hand the ancient worlds of prehistoric plants, animals and fossils in a journey through 4.5 billion years of the Earth’s history.

Families and individuals planning a day out during the Christmas break are in for a treat at GONDWANA – Das Praehistorium. The park’s awe-inspiring “hosts”, Argentinosaurus, T-Rex and Triceratops, are waiting to welcome you into their world. But GONDWANA has more to offer than just dinosaurs and fossils: breathtaking reconstructions of natural spectacles – a flash flood for example – take young and old visitors into an enchanted world long before our time.

GONDWANA – Das Praehistorium is open from 9.00am – 6.00pm every day during the holidays, except 24th December 2009, 1st January 2010 and on Mondays. Last entry is at 5.00pm. “And every Wednesday at 3.00pm, our visitors can now enjoy the complete Praehistorium experience”, says Managing Director and GONDWANA founder Matthias Michael Kuhl. "All visitors in possession of a valid day ticket will be entitled to take part in the guided tour of the exhibition halls completely free of charge. Meeting point for the guided tour is by the ticket office in the entrance lobby.”

On 1 August 2009, GONDWANA – Das Praehistorium welcomed its new apprentices, thereby providing youngsters with a sound qualification and a solid foundation to their careers.

“By offering apprenticeship placements, we are making provisions for a qualified workforce in the future”, says Matthias Michael Kuhl, creator and managing director of GONDWANA – Das Praehistorium. Qualifications are offered in the field of tourism and leisure, as well as in the more traditional business administration and secretarial sector and in retail. The apprenticeship lasts three years, during which the trainees will be working in all the different areas of the leisure park, therefore gaining a thorough insight into the structures and processes of the business. Qualities that are expected in return are a competent and friendly attitude as well as team spirit and an open mind.

“The relatively new leisure and tourism apprenticeship syllabus in particular, allows us to provide the trainee not just with the qualification itself, but also to instil in them the necessary service orientation and subject expertise that we expect from our staff”, explains Matthias Michael Kuhl. It focuses first on teaching basic commercial and business skills, before the apprentices take up their training as visitor guides and assistants in the exhibition halls of the theme park – a fascinating and versatile job, which should also be very enjoyable and rewarding.

“In addition to growing our own qualified staff for the future, we also want to honour our commitment as a partner of the Saarland 2015 tourism strategy (“Tourismusstrategie Saarland 2015”) to support this initiative through the provision of training and apprenticeship placements”, says Matthias Michael Kuhl.

This year, three apprentices have taken up their placements at GONDWANA – Das Praehistorium. For next year, the creation of a further training opportunity is envisaged in the technical sector.

Good news for all fans of GONDWANA – Das Praehistorium who are looking for dinosaur-themed gifts and natural history merchandise.

The theme park’s very own online shop is now open, offering visitors the opportunity to order goods from the comfort of their own home and have them delivered to their door in no time at all. Whether it’s for a birthday, special occasion or just for fun, the GONDWANA – Das Praehistorium online shop has the perfect gift or souvenir for you, offering a wide range of toys, books and DVDs.

“We are very pleased to be able to offer this new online service to our fans and visitors, allowing them to shop outside of our normal opening times. Visitors have been asking us for such a service, as they often find they would like to purchase additional merchandise, as a gift or for themselves, once they have returned home after their visit”, says Matthias Michael Kuhl, creator and managing director of GONDWANA – Das Praehistorium.

All transaction data is encrypted to ensure a smooth and secure online shopping experience. To find out more, please visit

www.gondwana-onlineshop.de.

Good news for families visiting GONDWANA – Das Praehistorium: as of 1st July 2009 our family ticket at the price of €38 is valid for two children, instead of for just one child, as before. This reduces the overall cost for two adults and two children by €8. Each additional child will be able to join the intriguing journey through the Earth’s history for just €6. “With this reduction in our entrance fees we want to make it easier for families with more than one child to benefit from the exciting and educational insights into the prehistoric world", says M M Kuhl, creator and managing director of GONDWANA – Das Praehistorium.

Another highlight for children is the new outdoor area with the archaeological camp, which is free to use for young explorers. And, while their children are digging for dinosaur remains, parents can enjoy barbecued culinary delights from the Saarland region on our new open-air terrace.

Just in time for the summer, GONDWANA – Das Praehistorium unveils a new attraction for all the family. In front of its main entrance hall, GONDWANA – Das Praehistorium is creating a 700-square-metre archaeological excavation site for children. From mid-June, budding archaeologists will be able to dig for dinosaur remains in an authentic setting and equipped with all the tools and paraphernalia. “This new outdoor extension will be a paradise for young explorers who want to get hands-on with a trowel and brush.” says Matthias Michael Kuhl, managing director and creative genius at GONDWANA – Das Praehistorium. Construction work is due to be completed soon and a grand opening is planned for mid-June.

The Gondwana archaeological camp is set in an artificial landscape of water and rocks within a total area of 700 square metres. Explorers of all ages can help excavate the replica of a 65-million-year-old Tyrannosaurus Rex skeleton, using authentic equipment. Through a wilderness of waterholes and rocks, across a log road, the explorers have to make their way to the location of the dig, where they will find a camp, fully equipped with a desert-proof Land Rover, a shade sail and all the tools required to start their excavations.

Adventure pure for young Gondwana explorers – fun and relaxation for grown-up Gondwana fans, who can join their little ones in the adventure or watch their explorations while enjoying delicious Saarland specialties from the barbecue on the open-air terrace next to the camp.

The fascinating representation of prehistoric times is being permanently enlarged to add further details to the history of evolution.
The exhibition areas in front of the halls showing the different evolutionary periods have been made more attractive through the addition of large phosphorescent globes showing the continental shift in all eras and the position of present-day Saarland over the course of millions of years. Visitors are provided with information on “Gondwana”, Pangaea” and the “Variscan orogeny”, all vital elements in the evolution of the world. They can also find out about the climate and its development over a period of hundreds of million years and how, for example, Saarland had tropical coral reefs in prehistoric times.

A further important addition will assist visitors who don’t speak German. An audio guide is now available in English and French providing interesting information and film commentaries in those languages.

A German audio guide that doesn’t simply read the texts of the exhibits but rather accompanies the tour in the form of a dialogue between two visitors is being prepared for families, individual visitors and small groups who prefer not to book a guided tour.

Further informative material has also been provided elsewhere. The GONDWANA – Das Praehistorium website contains a summary and chronological table showing the most important evolutionary stages and the names of the flora and fauna in the various halls. Illustrated leaflets with a GONDWANA rally and quiz for different age groups from kindergarten to school age have been prepared.

In addition to the tour of GONDWANA – Das Praehistorium, various other activities – making plaster casts of fossils or an excursion to the nearby coal-heap to look for fossils – can also be booked, providing an even more interesting and varied visit for children’s groups, birthdays or school classes.

On Sunday 26 April, Germany's SR 2 KulturRadio will broadcast its programme "Fragen an den Autor" (Questions to the author) live from Gondwana - Das Praehistorium in Landsweiler-Reden. In the shadow of a giant dinosaur skeleton, Dr. Jürgen Neffe will launch his book on the history of the theory of evolution: "Darwin. Das Abenteuer des Lebens" (C. Bertelsmann, €22.95). Entrance to the launch is free, and it begins at 10.30 a.m..

The Earth's southern continental mass, once the cohesive supercontinent of "Gondwana", always had a special place in the Earth's history. Owing to its isolation, this supercontinent often went its own way in the development of its fauna and flora. Much of what developed on the northern continents was matched by parallel developments in the south, fully independent of the former and similar only in outer form.

In December, Gondwana - Das Praehistorium was successfully launched at the Reden site. Since 11 January, the former pit site has had a second attraction to offer visitors:
In the former pithead baths, the exhibition entitled "Das Auge des Himmels" places the perspective of an Earth observation satellite within reach of people on Earth itself.

"Face the adventure" is GONDWANA's challenge to its visitors. Fascinating, long-lost worlds can be experienced at first hand. Landsweiler-Reden and Das Praehistorium can be reached via the A8 motorway. Take the Neunkirchen City exit, then follow the signs on the B 41. Sufficient parking spaces are available on the site itself. Alternatively, it is a twenty-minute train ride from Saarbrücken to Landsweiler-Reden station.

At the Reden pit in Schiffweiler, the final touches are currently being applied to the theme world, which opens to the wider public on Sunday, 14 December 2008. Das Praehistorium provides a vivid experience of the development of life on Earth over the past 4.5 billion years.