Insights

From clearing out and renovating the building to the plans, concepts, and building up the new exhibitions, here's the behind-the-scenes look at the project of the century.

Action

Since October 2015, the exhibitions on Museum Island have been updated and redesigned. The exhibition building is also being brought up to the latest technical standards. This is being done in two phases so that the museum remains open. In July 2022, the first modernisation phase was completed. On 20,000 square meters, 20 new and renewed permanent exhibitions - from aviation to chemistry to health - now await your visit. At the same time, the construction site has "moved" to the other side of the building. There, it will first be cleared out, then the shell will be restored, and finally all rooms will be renovated and modernised before new and revised exhibitions can move in again. In 2028, the 125th anniversary of the Deutsches Museum's founding, the building is to shine completely in new splendor.

Our exhibitions currently have an average age of 20 years. Renewing them is a top priority of the Future Initiative. Before tackling that task, however, the necessary conditions must be put in place. The exhibitions implement in didactic form the latest results of historical research and new aspects of museum pedagogy.
To preserve the valuable holdings at the Museum Island site, the rooms must be renovated and updated to reflect the most advanced technical standards: We will upgrade the fire protection standards and repair damage to the buildings. The nearly 100 year old complex on the Museum Island was only patched up after the Second World War. Under the Future Initiative, the exhibition buildings on the Museum Island will be fully refurbished from top to bottom.

From dismantling and construction

Insights into the first part of the general refurbishment

Documentary filmmaker Reiner Holzemer accompanies the project of the century. Here is a short montage of his pictures of the first part of the general renovation. With the kind support of the Freundes- und Förderkreis Deutsches Museum e.V.