Tomorrow Begins Today: Futurium has Opened

Today, Futurium has been launched at its location in the heart of Berlin. The opening ceremony was attended by the Head of the Federal Chancellery Professor Dr Helge Braun, Federal Minister of Education and Research Anja Karliczek, ESA astronaut Dr Alexander Gerst and sea-ice physicist Dr Stefanie Arndt. They paid tribute to the fact that, with Futurium, a place has been brought into being that encourages all of its visitors to engage themselves with the future and to help shape it.

At this house of futures, everything revolves around the question: how do we want to live? Visitors can now explore answers to this question. For the first time, all areas of Futurium have been opened to the public: 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.

To celebrate the opening together with all its visitors, Futurium has organised a huge ‘Futures Festival’. Everything kicks off with an opening party tonight, Thursday (5 September), from 19:00 to 01:00. From 10:00 to 18:00 on Friday, Saturday and Sunday (6–8 September), Futurium will be presenting itself in all its many facets by means of a varied programme of events.

Press commentaries on the Futurium launch

Professor Dr Helge Braun, Head of the Federal Chancellery

“Futurium has been conceived as a public thinking space. It is a place for us to ponder, discuss and experiment with options and challenges for the future, and here is where science and research should present their solutions for the most pressing questions of the future. I’m certain that Futurium will grow into a key nexus in science communication.”

Anja Karliczek, Federal Minister of Education and Research

“With Futurium, we now have a new central location for discussing the issues of the future. Futurium will demonstrate how developments are driven by creativity, vision, and the spirit of discovery. This is important for our country. Futurium is meant to be a place for exchanging ideas about the future, where normal citizens can inform themselves and contribute their own suggestions. Eight years after the Federal Government’s decision to support this project, I’m delighted that we’ve now got this house of futures.”

Dr Alexander Gerst, ESA astronaut

“Humans have been explorers from the beginning of time. For thousands of years, they’ve been exploring their habitats wherever this was possible. It’s only been 60 years since we first flew into space – a mere blink of the eye in the timeline of human history. Space travel is in our blood, in our genes – and it will remain so forever. I’m happy that the launch of Futurium has given us a place where I hope that many visitors will be awakened to the spirit of discovery.”

Dr Stefanie Arndt, sea-ice physicist and climatologist at the Alfred Wegener Institute

“The future is an issue that concerns us all. In climate research, we try to describe our future using scientific models in order to estimate which climate-relevant changes we will be facing and how, and where, we can and must take countermeasures. Why is that? We do so to ensure a future on our planet Earth as we know it, for ourselves and for future generations. Precisely for this purpose, Futurium offers a broad range of interactive points that make tomorrow’s world vividly experienceable today.”

Dr Stefan Brandt, Director of Futurium

“We are convinced that the future concerns us all. For this reason, Futurium is aimed at the broad spectrum of society. At this house of futures, the fundamental question ‘How do we want to live?’ is dealt with on three complementary levels: in the exhibition with its three thinking spaces Human, Nature, and Technology, in the Forum with its exciting and controversial debates, and in the Futurium Lab with its imaginative experimental and interactive offerings. Our goal is to encourage as many people as possible to help shape a sustainable future. Therefore, we are very pleased that admission to Futurium is free of charge. This will enable visitors to discover this house of futures for themselves – step by step, and time and time again.”

Nicole Schneider, Commercial Managing Director of Futurium

“The future needs its own place. With Futurium, such a place, a participative space in the very heart of Berlin, has been created. A building that fascinates with its extraordinary architecture, an exhibition that expands knowledge and thinking, a lab that invites visitors to try things out, and a workshop programme that shows visitors of all ages ways to shape their own futures.”