David von Becker
Press Release 7 January 2022
Around 200,000 Visitors to Futurium in 2021 – Starting 2022 with “Possible Futures of Mobility”
Despite the severe limitations caused by the coronavirus pandemic, Futurium managed to attract lots of visitors in 2021: last year, around 200,000 people passed through the doors of the House of Futures in Berlin. In addition, Futurium’s digital content across all its different channels received nearly ten million clicks. In the autumn of 2021, the European Museum Academy in The Hague honoured Futurium with the Luigi Micheletti Award – the most prestigious European award for innovative science museums.
In 2022, Futurium will continue to stay in motion – literally. At the close of 2021, one of the major topics of the future, mobility, was introduced into the permanent exhibition and the Lab by means of the question “How mobile are we?”. Futurium’s 2022 programme of events, workshops and discussion panels will again be shaped by this topic.
David von Becker
Futurium moves!
The 2022 programme continues to focus on mobility as a major topic of the future. It’s about the movement of people, things and nature – but also of ideas and knowledge. Interactive points and exhibits invite visitors to get involved and participate. A wide range of events on the topic will round the programme off.
One of the highlights in the first quarter of 2022 will be a discussion with sociologist Hartmut Rosa about the vastness and limits of our world under the title “How far away is soon?”. How does the striving of modern societies for “further, higher, more” impact our world? What consequences do the increasing “availability” of things and the simultaneous loss of “resonance” in human relationships have for our society? What limits will there be in the future? In the final edition of the talk series “Everything is on the move!”, the moderators Dr Karena Kalmbach, Head of Strategy and Content at Futurium and an expert on environmental and technological history, and Dr (habilitated) Weert Canzler, mobility researcher at the Berlin Social Science Center, will discuss these questions with Hartmut Rosa. The pandemic situation permitting, the discussion will be held on-site at Futurium on 16 March 2022 at 18:30. In any event, it will be broadcast digitally.
The entire series of talks – a total of six to date – is also available via Futurium’s YouTube channel. Since the first discussion in July 2021, Kalmbach & Canzler and their guests have been searching for answers to the question of how we can make mobility more sustainable and equitable in the future.
Programme of events from January to March 2022
Every Thursday, 17:00
Open Lab Night
The individual events have varying topics, and it’s possible to join in at any time. Admission is free.
14 January 2022, 11:00–13:30
Follow-up! – Start of the Science Year 2022
Livestream from Futurium
#MeineFragefürdieWissenschaft
A joint event of the Federal Ministry of Education and Research (BMBF) and Futurium
26 January 2022, 17:30–18:00
Everything is on the move! The globalization of things
On YouTube, Canzler & Kalmbach will be talking to historian Simone Müller about mobility
10 February 2022, 19:00–20:30
All by myself!
Berlin – city of lonely young adults?
Event as part of “Emotional City”
17 February 2022, 19:00–21:00
A mock trial: Driving safely with AI?
Experts discuss the arguments for and against
A joint event of Plattform Lernende Systeme and Futurium
18 February 2022, 10:00–18:00
Taking different futures to school!
Professional development day for teachers
23 February 2022, 17:30–18:00
Everything is on the move! Knowledge in motion
On YouTube, Canzler & Kalmbach will be talking to sinologist Dagmar Schäfer about mobility
3 March 2022, 19:00–21:00
Travelling, Racing, Quizzing
Issues of the future
The Pub Quiz at Futurium
16 March 2022, 18:30–20:00
“How far away is soon?” – Or: The cat of Hartmut Rosa
A conversation with sociologist Hartmut Rosa about the vastness and limits of our world
18 March 2022, 10:00–18:00
Taking different futures to school!
Professional development day for teachers
24 March 2022, 20:00–22:00
Ranga Yogeshwar & ...
How do technical developments impact our society – and vice versa? A discussion.
About Futurium:
Futurium is a house of futures. Everything here revolves around the question: how do we want to live? In the exhibition, visitors can discover many possible futures; in the Forum, they can take part in open discussions; and, in the Futurium Lab, they can try out their own ideas. One thing we know for sure today: in the future, we will have major challenges to overcome. How can we bring climate change under control? Which technologies do we want to use in the future? Does technology serve us – or do we serve technology? How do we want to live together as a society? Are there any alternatives to “higher, further, faster”? The future also emerges from our decisions and actions in the present. For this reason, Futurium, which was opened in September 2019, wants to inspire all its visitors to engage themselves with the future and to play a part in shaping it. Since its opening, more than 810,000 people have already visited the House of Futures, and its digital offerings have received millions of clicks.