‘Futures Festival’ for the Opening

On 5 September 2019, Futurium will be launched at its location in the heart of Berlin. For the first time, this house of futures will be opening itself up in its entirety to a broader audience: in the exhibition, visitors can discover exciting options for the future; in the Forum, they can take part in inspiring discussions; and, in the Futurium Lab, they can try out their own ideas. Together with all its visitors, Futurium will be using the opening as an occasion to celebrate a big ‘Futures Festival’. Everything kicks off with an opening party on the night of Thursday 5 September, from 19:00 to 01:00. From 10:00 to 18:00 on Friday, Saturday and Sunday (6 to 8 September), Futurium will be presenting itself in all its many facets by means of a varied programme of events.

Dr Stefan Brandt, the Director of Futurium, says: “We are looking forward to celebrating the opening of Futurium together with our visitors. Our vision is to make this house of futures a place for everyone – a venue that is open, imaginative and close to people’s real lives. We can all do our bit to shape a sustainable future. In this regard, it doesn’t matter where you come from or what you bring to the table. Because the question ‘How do we want to live?’ concerns us all. What is important is that we have a mutual exchange of ideas on questions about the future and are prepared to get involved. In the exhibition, in the Forum and in the Futurium Lab, we want to create a wide range of formats that make you want to do just that.”

The opening programme at a glance:

Futurium’s opening ceremony in the presence of Head of the Federal Chancellery Helge Braun, Federal Minister of Education and Research Anja Karliczek, sea-ice physicist Dr Stefanie Arndt and astronaut Dr Alexander Gerst will take place with invited guests on Thursday afternoon. The ceremony will be live streamed on Futurium’s website.

At 19:00 on Thursday night, the opening programme for the general public will begin – and everyone is cordially invited.

Topics of the future from A for Anthropocene to Z for zero waste can be encountered in the exhibition. Visitors can explore exciting options for the future in the thinking spaces Human, Nature and Technology, and develop their own standpoints on controversial topics.

At Thursday night’s opening discussion in the Forum, contemporary witness and Holocaust survivor Margot Friedländer, writer and Internet expert Kathrin Passig, and Professor Dr Armin Grunwald from the Institute for Technology Assessment and Systems Analysis (ITAS) in Karlsruhe, among others, will be discussing why it is rewarding to take an interest in the future. On Saturday, visions for science in the 21st century will be presented at the Forum by Professor Dr Sheila Jasanoff (Director of Harvard University’s Program on Science, Technology and Society) and Martin Rees (Astronomer Royal, former President of the British Science Association and co-founder of the Centre for the Study of Existential Risk at the University of Cambridge), among others. A further event is dedicated to possible utopias of the future: which ideas – none as crazy as it seems – could shape our lives of tomorrow? So-called lightning-talkers will offer responses such as “In the future, humans and machines will have completely merged”, “In the future, bosses will have become obsolete” or “In the future, animals will have the same rights as humans”. Beyond this, sitting on various ‘Futures Islands’, Futurium’s associates from the realms of politics, science and business will introduce ideas and research approaches that could stamp their mark on our future.

Anyone interested in making things, and tinkering with them, is welcome in the Futurium Lab’s workshop: throughout the weekend, experiments, electrical kits or creative design tasks on the exhibition topics will be tempting visitors to get stuck in. In the Futurium Lab’s Showcase, visitors can try out interactive exhibits – and talk directly to the artists about their work on topics of the future.

On Friday 6 September, Futurium is all about ‘Schooling for the Future’. Everything will be revolving around the educational activities of this house of futures. Classes from Berlin schools have been invited to sign up for guided tours and workshops on the future-related topics of work, health, nutrition, cities and energy. The workshops are based on the educational materials (Future Boxes) developed by Futurium for Year 7 to Year 10 children. In the Education Lounge, teachers and whoever else is interested have the chance to exchange ideas on topics of the future and new teaching concepts. They can also get to know everything Futurium has to offer in the way of educational formats and materials, and listen to short lectures on the future of schools.

Throughout the entire weekend, a whole range of games will make future scenarios experienceable in the here and now. Interactive audio-walks, experiments, city expeditions with role plays or creative time-travelling for children will invite visitors of all ages to play and to ponder.

Guided tours of the building will be offered throughout the weekend; for children there will be a quiz trail through the exhibition as well as guided tours tailored to their interests.

Against the backdrop of the River Spree, dancing is also on the agenda on Thursday night on Futurium’s forecourt with Scandinavian electro beats by WhoMadeWho and the DJ set of hoe__mies. On the evenings of Friday to Sunday, DJ RB_JUMBO, Arno Cao, Jazzmin and hansi_brise will be spinning their discs (or digital tracks).

Hoflieferanten Berlin will be catering for our guests’ culinary well-being at the ‘Restaurant at Futurium’.