Description
(Local Name: Deutsches Museum) The German Museum for Master-Works of Science and Technology in Munich is the world's largest museum of technology, covering an area of more than 50,000sq.m/59,800sq.yd and displaying some 17,000 exhibits. The collections are constantly being expanded by the addition of the latest technological developments.

The museum was founded in 1903 and directed in its early years by Oskar von Miller. Since 1925 it has been housed in a large complex built by Gabriel von Seidl on an island in the Isar, later supplemented by a library, conference hall and other such extensions.

The original conference hall, now housing the Forum der Technik which always attracts crowds of visitors, was for decades one of Munich's principal venues. It was here that the Christian Socialist Union (CSU) was founded in November 1945 and the German trade union federation was formed in 1949. Many well-known artists also appeared at the hall. The various departments in the museum are excellently arranged, with particularly clear explanations enabling visitors to follow the development of each scientific discipline and field of technology. Up-to-the-minute methods of presentation are used, incorporating scientific apparatus, demonstrations of experiments, machines and machinery, models, and picture displays.

The museum library, a reference library in science and technology, has some 750,000 volumes, 4,500 periodicals and collections of technical journals, plans, patents, catalogues and manuscripts and other documents. The "Libri Rari" section contains 5,000 or so scientific and technological source works printed before 1750 (information: tel. 2179224).

The museum has its own research institute for technology and the history of science, collaborating closely with the Institut für Geschichte der Naturwissenschaften (History of Science) at the Ludwig-Maximilians-Universität and the Zentralinstitut für Geschichte (History) at Munich's Technical University. Regular seminars and lectures are held (information: tel. 2179301).
Hobbies & Activities category: Library;  Major world-scale museum
Attractions within German Museum

Studiensammlung

The extensive study collection in the Deutsches Museum includes historical scientific instruments, machines and models. Access is by appointment only and is restricted to bona fide researchers in the relevant fields.

Agricultural Exhibits

On the German Museum's third floor are exhibits on agricultural technology.

Agriculture, indoor activities (milking machines; various hand-driven machines; threshing machines; comparative models
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Altamira Exhibit

On the German Museum's second floor are Neolithic tools and a copy of the prehistoric painting found in the Altamira cave near Santander in northern Spain.

Aviation Collection

The museum houses a significant collection of German aircraft dating from the 1890s to the present. There are interesting interactive displays demonstrating principles of flight and also
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Car Exhibits

The car exhibits in the German Museum include:

Coaches, bicycles:

Six coaches, among them a Berlin and a mailcoach, handcarts etc., three-wheelers, history of the bicycle (Baron Karl von Drais' 18
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Communications Exhibits

The communications exhibits in the German Museum include:

Micro-electronics:

History of solid-state technology and integrated circuits; technical crystal production; chip manufacture; logic chips
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Film and Photographic Library

Affiliated to the German Museum is a film and photographic library with a collection of some 40,000 negatives.

Glass and Ceramics

The ceramics and glass exhibits in the German Museum include:

Ceramics:

Ceramics in antiquity, Greek and Roman ceramics, ceramics in technology, manufacturing processes, glazing and decoration,
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Grounds

On the grounds of the German Museum the following attractions can be found:

A Dutch windmill from Wiesedermeer (East Friesland), built in 1866;

"Theodor Heuss", a lifeboat which went into service
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Mining Exhibits

The mining exhibits in the German Museum include:

Minerals, crystals and rocks, seams and mineral deposits:

Natural gas, oil:

Prospecting and extraction, drilling at depth, oil refining,
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Museum Courtyard

Pride of place in the German Museum courtyard is taken by a Dornier Do 31 transport aircraft, the prototype of a vertical take-off design developed for military purposes. Also in the courtyard are
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Musical Instruments

The Deutsches Museum has an extensive collection of brass and woodwind, string and plucked string instruments, reed-pipes, organs, upright and grand pianos, harpsichords, spinets, virginals, electric organs, dulcimers, Aeolian harps, musical boxes.

Photography Exhibits

The photography exhibits in the German Museum include:

Early years of photography (e.g. 1839 daguerreotype camera, 1894 "Bosco" automatic camera), photo-technology in the 20th century, motion pictures, cine-projection, photochemistry.

Planetarium

The German Museum Planetarium contains a Zeiss VII which was installed in 1993. Its dome measures 20 meters. Visitors can see IMAX technology and 3D laser animation.

Printing Exhibits

The printing exhibits in the German Museum include:

Paper:

Japanese paper manufacture, hand-made paper, the paper industry, watermarks, documents, paper machines.

Writing and printing:

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Railroad Exhibits

The railroad exhibits in the German Museum include:

History of rail transport, operating systems, track laying (with educational film), signals and safety systems, steam engines including a
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Scientific Collections

The scientific exhibits in the German Museum include:

First Floor:

Ehrensaal:

Hall of Fame honoring leading German inventors, engineers and entrepreneurs (paintings, busts, reliefs etc.).

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Shipping Exhibits

The shipping exhibits in the German Museum include:

Sailing ships, steam and motor vessels, boats, warships, submarines, navigation and diving techniques.

Special Collections / Archives

The German Museum boasts several special collections and well-endowed archives relating to the history of science and technology. Of the latter the air and space travel archive is particularly
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Technology Exhibits

The technology exhibits in the German Museum include:

Machine tools:

Development of machine tools from a reconstruction of a fourth millennium B.C. bow-drill to original 19th century transmission
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Textiles Exhibits

The textiles exhibits in the German Museum include:

Development from craft to industrial production; the spindle, loom, spinning-wheel, spinning and weaving machines.

Kerschensteiner-Kolleg

The Deutsches Museum's Kerschensteiner College provides courses on the history of technology and related topics for teachers and instructional staff from industry.
Address
Deutsches Museum
Museuminsel 1
D-80538 Munchen
Germany
Hours
January 1 to December 31
MonTueWedThuFriSatSun
Open9:009:009:009:009:009:009:00
Closed17:0017:0020:0017:0017:0017:0017:00
Always closed on:
New Year's Day (January 1)
Mardi Gras - Shrove Tuesday - Christian
Maundy (Holy) Thursday - Christian
Good Friday - Christian
Easter - Christian
May Day / Labor Day (May 1)
Pentecost Monday (Whit Monday) - Christian
Corpus Christi - Christian
All Saints' Day - Christian (November 1)
Christmas - Christian (December 25)
Christmas Eve - Christian (December 24)
Cost
Adult7.50 Euros
Group of 20 or more5.00 Euros
Concession or reduced rate5.00 Euros
Child 15 & under3.00 Euros
Child 6 & underFREE
Family15.00 Euros
Tips
Multiple day tickets available.
Disabled
Partial facilities for persons with disabilities.
Guides
Interpretive sessions sometimes available.
Guided tour available as optional extra.
Facilities
Gift shop
Restaurant or food service
Transit
S-Bahn: S1-S7 (Isartor); U-Bahn: U1, U2 (Fraunhoferstr.); Tram 18 (Deutshes Museum), 20 (Isartor).
Attractions Near German Museum, Munich