Opened in 2002, the mathematics museum in Giessen is the world's first interactive mathematics museum. Can maths really be cool? Can people really get excited about Pythagoras, Pi or Platonic bodies? They can at Mathematikum in Giessen, you can count on it! More than 100 exhibits welcome you into the world of mathematics. It is suitable for visitors of all ages and educational backgrounds. Try your hand at a jigsaw puzzle or building a bridge, pull your hair out over dice games, learn about the golden ratio, watch a ball race, stand inside a giant bubble and plenty more besides. Guided tours for groups available on request.
» www.mathematikum.de
Opened in 1987, the 3D museum in Dinkelsbühl is still the only one of its kind in the world. It is suitable for visitors of all ages, covering holography, 3D photography, 3D anaglyphs, Magic Eye pictures, three-dimensional effects in modern computer programmes, optical illusions, impossible figures, anamorphoses and picture puzzles on its four floors. The museum is also unique in the interactive elements it offers. Processes and techniques that have been employed since the Middle Ages are used in a simple, playful manner to produce the impression of depth. Guided tours on request.
» www.3d-museum.de
The Museum of Astronomy and Technical History and the Planetarium have been housed in the Orangery since 1992. On display is a broad range of fascinating scientific and technological objects from the Renaissance period to the modern day. The entrance hall introduces the museum's main themes of basic physical concepts: space, time, matter, energy and information. Highlights of the collection include astronomical instruments invented by Ebert Baldewein and Jost Bürgi, as well as rare and exquisite telescopes and clocks for measuring time and space from the fields of physics, microscopy and optics. Celestial globes, armillary spheres and astrolabes from the 16th century, reconstructions, models and interactive experiments bring the enthralling exhibition to life. On the third floor of the central building, above the smaller photography and meteorology sections, lies the ten-metre dome with the Zeiss planetarium projector. Guided tours are available. Closed on Mondays, 1 May, one day before Ascension Day, 24-25, 31 December.
» www.kassel.de
Established in 1984, the Adam Ries Museum is dedicated to the influential German arithmetician and located in the house he once lived in. He lived here from 1523 until his death in 1559 during the height of silver mining in Annaberg. The exhibition in his memory on the historical site gives an impression of the life and work of Adam Ries. Visitors can find out about arithmeticians, historical methods of calculation and arithmetic books and old Saxon measures and weights, as well as the contemporary procedure of “calculating on lines”, and they can see an example of calculations made with Roman numerals on an abacus. The original manuscript of Ries' book “Coss”, one of the most important works of medieval algebra, can be seen here too. It outlines the level of algebraic knowledge at the time and contains quadratic equations that still apply today. By prior arrangement, visitors can visit the Annaberg school of mathematics and the mathematical-genealogical library. Closed on Mondays, guided tours on request.
» www.adam-ries-bund.de
Since 1992, the Museum of Astronomy and Technical History with Planetarium has been using a large part of the Orangery for its permanent exhibition, which originated from the observatory founded in 1560 by Landgrave Wilhelm IV of Hessen-Kassel. The five sections, astronomy, clocks, geodesy, physics and mathematics/information technology have a broad range of fascinating scientific and technological objects from ancient times through the Renaissance period to the present on display. Astronomical instruments by Ebert Baldewein and Jost Bürgi form the historical core of the exhibition, and intriguing devices for measuring time and space from the fields of physics, microscopy, optics, balance, photography and meteorology are also on show. Closed on Mondays and also 1 January, 1 May, 24-25 and 31 December. Guided tours by arrangement.
» www.museum-kassel.de
The museum opened in Bonn in 1999, offering a fascinating insight into the world of mathematics. Here, the research institute for discrete mathematics at Bonn University presents a collection of more than 1,200 exhibits, largely functional historical calculating machines and maths books dating back to the time of Gutenberg. At Arithmeum visitors can encounter the bizarre cogwheel mechanisms in mechanical calculating machines, the exciting world of modern, highly integrated logic chips and the symbiosis of technology, science and art. Closed on Mondays, guided tours on request.
» www.arithmeum.uni-bonn.de
Phänomenta in Flensburg is a special experience that makes physics fun; a very different sort of museum. Covering several floors and 2,000m˛ of exhibition space, children and adults alike can try things out for themselves at more than 150 interactive stations from all conceivable areas – mechanics, optics, acoustics, electrics and much, much more. All of the senses are put to use to understand the scientific and technical events at the exciting interactive stations with names such as “Klick Klack”, “Spiegelflieger”, “Hörkurve” and “Mitdrehender Kopf”. How much energy is required to operate a television? In the Ames Room visitors marvel at optical illusions. Open all year round.
» www.phaenomenta.com
Opened in 2005, Phaeno in Wolfsburg, one of the most spectacular science and technology museums, is a relatively new "arrival". The futuristic building offers 9,000m˛ for exhibitions and activities, 250 interactive "experiment stations" and an open landscape with craters, terraces, plateaus and subterranean caverns. Visitor laboratories and the science theatre bring natural phenomena to life. Visitors can touch a tornado, watch geysers form or ride a rodeo gyroscope. They can even become a crash test dummy by running against a padded wall and measuring the impact. And if you think Ali Baba's flying carpet is the stuff of fairytales, you will learn differently here. Closed on Mondays.
» www.phaeno.de
