Which animals live in the sea? What are asphalt volcanoes? Why is the ocean ecosystem endangered? At the Martime Centre Elba Islands of the Wilhelmsburg district school, oceanography can be experienced first-hand. The natural sciences are anything but boring when the research ship takes to the seas or Helgoland is explored. The "shipyard for thinking and action" was launched together with the Allfred Wegener lnstitute Helmholtz Centre for Polar and Ocean Research, the International Maritime Museum Hamburg, IBA Hamburg GmbH, and the Shipbuilding and Ocean Industries Association. The initiative kindles a desire in young people to do research and to embark on a maritime career.