Which colors can you see best in the dark? Seven-year-old Adele doesn’t have to think long. “White,” she says immediately, “and orange is good too!” Why is she so sure? “Because I just tried it,” says the second-grader. She and her class from the Astrid-Lindgren-Strasse primary school are visiting the “Out and about in my town” exhibition in the new children’s museum. They put different colored pieces of fabric on a wooden figure, put it in a kind of camera box and changed the light using a switch. It’s clear: you don’t see very well in the dark – and unfortunately you aren’t seen very well either. Unless you wear light-colored fabrics, have lights on your bike or reflectors on your school bag, as can be read on one of the panels accompanying the experiment. Adele is certainly dressed correctly: today she is wearing her favorite light gray, almost white sweatshirt.
Around twenty such interactive stations for participation, experimentation and research can be found spread over three floors in the exhibition area of the children’s museum, which has not yet fully arrived in its new premises in Messestadt Riem. Nevertheless, from June 15, young and old visitors are invited to explore various aspects of the topic of mobility in the exhibition, which was developed together with the Mobility Department.
Two boys are currently climbing into the front seat of a wooden truck replica and taking a seat behind the wheel to test out what the so-called blind spot is all about: If someone outside places a few objects around the truck – this task is carried out by one of the exhibition staff who accompany the children here and at other stations and provide assistance – you can see that there are areas around cars that cannot be seen, even if you use all the mirrors when driving.
Furthermore, the young visitors can try out different footwear at the hands-on stations, drive a bus, create network maps for public transport and consider how a parking space can be used differently. They also learn which rules must be observed in traffic, test their reaction speed, get to know traffic signs – and can invent new ones. But the effects of noise and exhaust fumes on the environment and health are also illustrated. How much space does a single car need, how much CO₂ do the various means of transport cause?
Managing Director Andreas Ernstberger looks on with visibly delight at the little explorers who are making their way up and down the stairs in the exhibition. “We are very happy that the children’s museum can start operating again here in the former construction center in Riem, in a district where many families and children live and which will be densified in the future,” he says. Even if it will take a little patience until the entire museum reopens, he is optimistic about the future: A completely new area is being created on the top two floors for the participatory project “Making a Museum”, which is particularly dear to him and his team and for which there was no room at the old location at the main train station. A large opening party for the entire museum complex is planned for late autumn 2024.
Out and about in my city, family exhibition for children from 4 years, Saturday, 15 June to 9 March 2025, Children’s MuseumWilly-Brandt-Allee 10