04 May: Celebrate with us the raw materials of the future
TREASURES OF THE FUTURE – Opening Party
Starting shot for the launch of the annual theme: it’s time to celebrate! Together with you, we’ll be launching the new thematic focus raw materials at Futurium with a big party.
+++ All offers are free of charge. +++
Annual Theme: Raw Materials
TREASURES OF THE FUTURE
Raw materials determine our lives. Our whole existence rests upon them. Yet we’re facing major challenges: our demand for raw materials is constantly rising; their extraction is damaging to nature and the environment; and many people are suffering from the impacts of resource mining and from the unequal distribution of raw materials. And what about the future? We want to explore with you how raw materials can be extracted, distributed and used in a responsible and fair manner. Find out more about our annual theme here.
Celebrate with us the raw materials of the future
For an entire year, everything here will be revolving around the treasures of the future: raw materials. We’ll be asking ourselves what sustainable and socially equitable futures of raw materials might look like and what we need to do today to achieve them. Join in, try out and find your own answers! The party will start on the forecourt: here you can build musical instruments from various materials and create sounds with them – perhaps even in a little jam session? An improv-theatre group will get you in the mood for the topic. Are you planning on coming with the whole family? Then make sure not to miss Julian Janssen – whom you probably know from the TV show “Checker Julian”. Together with him, you can check out raw materials in an entertaining show. In the afternoon, you can dive deep into the future when international guests will take to the stage to present their visions for a sustainable and fair use of critical raw materials. Other experts will be sharing their knowledge with you in short talks on the small stages. Fans of brainteasers should definitely not miss out on our brand-new escape game: help a scientist solve an exciting case! Of course, you can also explore new objects in the exhibition and Lab – on your own or by participating in a guided tour. Admission and all programme offerings are free of charge. Drop by and discover the treasures of the future with us!
Information
- Opening time: 10:00–20:00
- All offers are free of charge.
- Registration is required for some offers. You will find the link to the ticket shop in the respective event.
- Food and drinks can be purchased on site.
- Event language: German and English
- Information on accessibility can be found at the bottom of the page.
English Program items
10:00–20:00 | Discover new exhibits!
Keep an eye out in the exhibition and lab: At three locations you will find the new installations on the treasures of the future: raw material.
Venue: Exhibition, Lab
10:00–15:00 | Experience gold mining in the Democratic Republic of Congo with VR glasses
Looking for gold in the mine shaft. Using VR glasses, enter the digital version of a gold mine in the Democratic Republic of Congo, scanned to scale with a modern cell phone. By the way: Gold is built into all cell phones because it has excellent electrical conductivity. But mining gold is often very dangerous and the pay is miserable. More about the “Kamituga Digital Gold” project: www.digital-gold.ch.
Venue: Exhibition | Language: English, German | Event format: Virtual reality show
10:00–18:00 | Homemade music instruments. Experiments with raw materials and their sound
The artists from “Selbstgebaute Musik” will build instruments at three stands: canned guitars with elements from Steinway, sonic rattles and ballon trumpets whose sounds are reminiscent of the saxophone with a little skill.
Venue: Forecourt | Language: English, German | Age: 6+ | Event format: Drop-In Workshop
11:00–12:30 | Project HORIZON. An interactive escape rally through our raw material worlds
You find yourself in an exciting crime thriller! Disguised as ordinary visitors, you wander through the exhibition and help a scientist solve a mysterious case. An interactive escape rally through our raw material worlds.
Starting point: Foyer | Language: English, German | Age: 16+ | Event format: Escape Rally | Registration required, you find all details here
13:00–19:00 | Circular Economy. Interactive rally on the trail of sustainability
Follow in the footsteps of the improvisers! We are building our own circular economy. Immerse yourself in the stories of the actors and solve tricky tasks relating to sustainability and resources.
Venue: Foyer, forecourt | Language: English, German | Age: 6+ | Event format: Rally
14:30–15:30 | Highlights in the exhibition
In our exhibition visitors can discover exciting options for the future: Develop your own attitude towards controversial topics in the three thinking spaces Human, Nature and Technology. The tour also gives an insight to our new topic of raw materials.
Start: Foyer | Language: English | Age: 16+ | Event format: Guided tour
15:00–16:30 | Project HORIZON. An interactive escape rally through our raw material worlds
You find yourself in an exciting crime thriller! Disguised as ordinary visitors, you wander through the exhibition and help a scientist solve a mysterious case. An interactive escape rally through our raw material worlds.
Starting point: Foyer | Language: English, German | Age: 16+ | Event format: Escape Rally | Registration required, you find all details here
15:30–16:00 | Extractive Bargains
The talk will explore what kind of political bargains are needed to
reimagine the future of global resource extraction – and how to envision
a future with less dependence on the exploitation of natural resources.
Within the context of futurism, the talk will also highlight
implications of such bargains for critical minerals, Green New Deals,
and just/sustainable energy transitions. A joint event with the Futurium partner Leibniz Association.
With Prof. Dr. Nathan Andrews, Associate Professor in Political Science at McMaster University and incoming Visiting Research Fellow at GIGA
Moderated by Raphaela Hobbach, Research Associate Strategy and Content at Futurium.
Venue: Lab | Language: English | Event format: Talk
16:00–16:30 | Bicycle meets music. Bells and wind chimes made from old bicycles
For this workshop, the construction workers from the artists group “Selbstgebaute Musik” tore apart entire bicycles. The bicycle frame tubes of different lengths become instruments with harmonious sounds in different pitches.
Venue: Forecourt | Language: English, German | Age: 12+ | On-side registration required
16:00–16:30 Uhr | Green steel from aluminium waste
A joint event with the Futurium partner Max Planck Society
With Ubaid Manzoor and Laura Gabriela Torres Mejia, Max Planck Institute for Sustainable Materials
Host: Dr Karena Kalmbach, Head of Strategy and Content at Futurium
Venue: Exhibition | Language: English
16:45–17:15 | Bicycle meets music. Bells and wind chimes made from old bicycles
For this workshop, the construction workers from the artists group “Selbstgebaute Musik” tore apart entire bicycles. The bicycle frame tubes of different lengths become instruments with harmonious sounds in different pitches.
Venue: Forecourt | Language: English, German | Age: 12+ | On-side registration required
17:00–18:30 | Project HORIZON. An interactive escape rally through our raw material worlds
You find yourself in an exciting crime thriller! Disguised as ordinary visitors, you wander through the exhibition and help a scientist solve a mysterious case. An interactive escape rally through our raw material worlds.
Starting point: Foyer | Language: English, German | Age: 16+ | Event format: Escape Rally | Registration required, you find all details here
17:00–18:30 | Kick-off event: Treasures of the future
Starting from the strained planetary boundaries, Futurium asks what sustainable and socially just raw material futures could look like and what decisions are needed in the here and now.
With Zenzi Awases, Geologist and Vice President of the Association of Women in Mining in Africa (AWIMA), Prof. Marcel Fratzscher, Economist and President of the German Institute for Economic Research (DIW), Tom Hegen, winner of the International Photography Award, Robert Klauer, VAUDE, Dr Marianne Kuhlmann, Co-Founder and Lead of „Circularity“
Venue: Forum | Language: English, German, German sign language | Event format: Talk | Registration required, you find all details here
17:30–18:00 | Bicycle meets music. Bells and wind chimes made from old bicycles
For this workshop, the construction workers from the artists group “Selbstgebaute Musik” tore apart entire bicycles. The bicycle frame tubes of different lengths become instruments with harmonious sounds in different pitches.
Venue: Forecourt | Language: English, German | Age: 12+ | On-side registration required
18:00–20:00 | Music on the forecourt
Relax and listen to the sound worlds of the artists from “Selbstgebaute Musik” under the evening sky.
Venue: Forecourt
19:00–19:30 | Jam session with homemade instruments
To the DJ's live set from "Selbstgebaute Musik" and with the support of the improvisers, orchestral groups of can guitars, rattles and balloon trumpets play to electronic sounds.
Venue: Forecourt | Age: 6+ | Event format: Music
