Using impact craters to teach about Space Science: the development of the interactive Science Center Morasko-Impact in Poland.

Morasko [1] is among only 200 places on Earth [2] which we are confident that they faced a cosmic catastrophe. About 4.5 ka ago [3], a small iron asteroid fragmented while going through the atmosphere and hit the area in central Poland. Morasko strewn field consists of a group of seven craters located in central Poland. The largest structure is 100 m in diameter. Multiple fragments of the impactor were found. The resulting impact craters form an extremely rare occurrence of an impact structure that is geomorphologically recognizable for everybody and, simultaneously, it is highly accessible as it is located within the fifth largest city in Poland: Poznan.

 

Figure 1. Photos of the first annual The Day of Morasko Meteorite Craters held on 5^th of October 2025 in Suchy Las municipality (just next to the craters).

 

 

 

Unfortunately, Morasko is currently utilized for educational and tourist purposes to a very limited degree. The site is formally protected (Morasko Meteorite Nature Reserve), and there is a slightly deteriorated, but well-designed educational path. Some pieces of Morasko meteorite (along with a collection of other meteorites) are curated in the nearby Geology Museum of Adam Mickiewicz University, however, access to this display is possible only for a couple of hours a week (upon previous appointment).

 

 

Museums and/or geoparks were established near many impact sites e.g.: Chicxulub museum [4], Kaali Meteoritics and Limestone Museum [5], Meteor Crater Barringer Space Museum, Odessa Meteor Crater Museum, Ries Crater Museum Nördlingen [6], Meteorite Museum, Rochechouart [7]. Most impact sites, even if they are formally protected, are not associated with a museum.

 

The ultimate goal of our team (~10 years in the future) is to create an interactive museum near this unique location to allow people to explore the relationship between Space and Earth. We are a very diverse team working on different aspects of this topic, ranging from astronomy and geology, through forestry and electrical engineering up to archaeology and anthropology) representing different career stages (from early career through mid and up to emeritus), from six different academic institutions in Poland. Since the establishment of our group a year ago, we have organized a large outreach event (lectures, workshops, guided trips to the craters) visited by more than 1000 people, numerous lectures, presentations for decision-makers, and we have applied for a few grants. We welcome all the help from the European Space Science Community 😊

 

 

References: [1] Szokaluk et al. 2019. Geology of the Morasko craters, Poznań, Poland —Small impact craters inunconsolidated sediments. MAPS54:1478–1494.  [2] Osinski et al. 2022. Impact Earth: A review of the terrestrial impact record, Earth-Science Rev. 232:104–112  [3] Losiak et al. 2023. Dating Morasko Crater (Poland) — Insights into the Problem of Dating of Small Impact Craters LPSC id.1699.   [4] Losiak et al. 2016. Dating Kaali Crater (Estonia) based on Charcoal emplaced within proximal ejecta blanket. MAPS 51:681–695.  [5] Urrutia-Fucugauchi et al. 2020. Chicxulub museum, geosciences in Mexico, outreach and science communication – built from the crater up. Geosci. Commun. 4:267–280.   [6] PöSges 2005. The Ries Crater Museum in Nördlingen, Bavaria, Germany. MAPS 40:1555-1557.  [7] Lambert P. 2023 The International Congress–Festival-CIRIR 2022 (ICF-CIRIR 2022), Rochechouart, France. MAPS https://doi.org/10.1111/maps.13954