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Photo: Deutsches Museum

The little nostalgia tour

Science that takes you back

From Walkman to dial disc, from Tamagotchi to Barbie: here is a small selection of objects that bring back memories.

The objects in the Deutsches Museum not only trace technological progress, some of them have shaped our childhood or enriched our everyday lives. And it's not uncommon for our guests to stand in front of a display case and realise a little wistfully what is already ‘museum-worthy’ these days. On our little nostalgia tour, we come across a few ‘old acquaintances’ that many people grew up with, that once connected them to the world, for example, that were simply indispensable or that took them to the next level.

Virtual pet Tamagotchi Photo: Deutsches Museum

Tamagotchi

It wants to play, eat, sleep and occasionally needs an electronic cuddle: the Tamagotchi is one of the first virtual pets. The ‘egg’ from Japanese toy manufacturer Bandai came onto the market in the second half of the 1990s and quickly became a cult object.

Compact Disc Player Sony Walkman Photo: Deutsches Museum

Compact Disc Player Sony Walkman D-EJ361

Cooler than the old cassette player: This Sony Discman, which dates back to 2001-2003, was intended to replace the classic cassette Walkman. However, the first MP3 players came onto the market soon afterwards and the music CD became less and less important.

Casio VL-Tone Photo: Deutsches Museum

Casio VL-Tone

The small Casio synthesiser was launched on the German market in 1981 for an affordable DM 149. The device quickly became a cult instrument as it produces particularly simple sounds. This is why the Casio VL-Tone was and still is used by well-known artists, including Human League, Stevie Wonder, Robbie Williams and especially Trio (‘Da da da da’).

“My aunt gave me one just like it when I was 14!”
Visitor looking at the Casio VL-Tone
Camcorder von der Firma Canon aus dem Jahr 2001.

Canon Camcorder Photo: Deutsches Museum

Canon Camcorder MVX1i

From the early 2000s, this camera was used to capture moving holiday memories. With 1.3 million pixels, the camcorder offered ‘the sharpest film and photo enjoyment’ (advertising) and was regarded as the new reference in the concert of megapixel-oriented devices.

[Translate to English:] Barbie und Ken im Flieger-Look

Barbie and Ken Photo: Deutsches Museum

Barbie and Ken

At least since the cinema hype of 2023: You can't get past Barbie! However, our doll and her ‘friend’ Ken date back to 2010 and the two of them are pilots on the move and symbolise flying in everyday culture.

Der farngrüne Telefonapparat, Baujahr 1988, war in vielen deutschen Haushalten zu finden. Das Gerät wurde noch mittels Wählscheibe bedient.

Telephone 79 Photo: Deutsches Museum

Telephone 79

Phones like this model ‘FeTAp 791-1’ with a dialling disc were still being produced at the end of the 1980s and could be found in millions of German households. Fern green was one of the standard colours for the devices, but grey and orange were also popular.

Dieser Gameboy-Klassiker ist das erste Exemplar in einer Reihe von Handheld-Konsolen. Er kam 1989 in Japan und den USA und ein Jahr später in Europa auf den Markt. Schnell wurde er zum Kultobjekt und bald zur erfolgreichsten Spielkonsole aller Zeiten. Die Anfänge der Konsolenspiele waren einfach: Begonnen hatte alles mit dem Spiel Tetris, das trotz farbloser Grafik – lediglich vier Grauabstufungen konnten dargestellt werden – zum Kult wurde und den Erfolg der handlichen Gameboy-Konsole ermöglichte. Auch seine für damalige Verhältnisse geringe Größe und die lange Batterielaufzeit verhalfen dem Gameboy zum Durchbruch.

Gameboy Nintendo Classic with "Tetris" Photo: Deutsches Museum

Gameboy Nintendo Classic with "Tetris"

This classic Gameboy is the first in a series of handheld consoles. It came onto the market in Japan and the USA in 1989 and a year later in Europe. It quickly became a cult object and soon became the most successful games console of all time. The beginnings of console games were simple: it all started with the game Tetris, which, despite its colourless graphics - only four shades of grey could be displayed - made the success of the handy Gameboy console possible.

Der Roboterhund AIBO ist der Versuch, ein Lebewesen in Aussehen und Verhalten technisch nachzuahmen. Er nimmt Informationen aus der Umgebung auf, bewegt sich selbständig und drückt „Gefühle“ aus. So reagiert AIBO auf Personen und Geräusche mit Bewegungen, Bellen und „leuchtenden Augen“.

Robot dog AIBO Photo: Deutsches Museum

Robot dog AIBO ERS-111

The robot dog AIBO is an attempt to technically imitate the appearance and behaviour of a living being. The word AIBO is derived from ‘Artificial Intelligence’ and ‘RoBOter’, which in Japanese also means friend or partner. Artificial animals have a market in Japan, as Japanese society is ageing rapidly and it is difficult to keep pets in densely populated cities. In 1999, the ERS-110, the first model of the AIBO, was offered on the Internet as a test: 3000 units were sold out within 20 minutes - at a price of almost DM 4000. The ERS-111 is the successor to the ERS-110, and both belong to the first series.

Diese 2001 hergestellte, preiswerte und leicht zu bedienende Kamera war zugleich als Abspielgerät für MP3-Musik eingerichtet. Mit der Aufnahme von Digitalfotos und Videoclips sowie dem Abspielen von Musik wandten sich diese Multimediageräte an eine junge Käuferschaft.

Kodak digital camera Photo: Deutsches Museum

Digital camera Kodak mc³

In 2001, several manufacturers brought inexpensive and easy-to-use cameras onto the market, which were also set up as MP3 players for music. By recording digital photos and video clips and playing music, these multimedia devices were aimed at a young target group.

Das Samsung Galaxy S III kam 2012 auf den Markt und wurde binnen eines Jahres mehr als 50 Millionen Mal verkauft.

Samsung Galaxy S III Photo: Deutsches Museum

Samsung Galaxy S III

In 2012, five years after the first smartphone came onto the market, Samsung launched the third generation of its devices. The Galaxy S III sold more than 50 million units within a year.

Furby, ein elektronischer Spielzeugroboter, wurde von Dave Hampton und Caleb Chung entwickelt und erstmals 1998 auf der American International Toy Fair vorgestellt. Durch eingebaute Sensoren kann das Spielzeug feststellen, wie sein Nutzer mit ihm umgeht. Es reagiert auf Streicheln, Ansprache etc. und zeigt „Emotionen“, indem es Augen, Ohren und Mund bewegt, Geräusche macht, tanzt, singt und in seiner (erfundenen) Sprache, dem „Furbish“ spricht. Ein eingebauter Sprachchip ermöglichte dem Furby das Erlernen weiterer Wörter zunächst nur auf Englisch, später je nach Verkaufsland auch in 24 weiteren Landessprachen, die dann neben das Furbish traten. Furbys der ersten Generation konnten über eine Infrarotschnittstelle auch miteinander kommunizieren. Der Kuschelroboter des Deutschen Museum gehört zur zweiten Generation.

Furby Photo: Deutsches Museum

Cuddle robot "Furby"

Furby, an electronic toy robot, was developed by Dave Hampton and Caleb Chung and first presented at the American International Toy Fair in 1998. Built-in sensors allow the toy to recognise how its user interacts with it. It reacts to being stroked, spoken to, etc. and shows ‘emotions’ by moving its eyes, ears and mouth, making noises, dancing, singing and speaking in its (invented) language, ‘Furbish’.

Beim iPod Mini waren Touch Wheel und Tasten erstmals unter einer Oberfläche, dem „Click Wheel“, vereint.

Apple iPod Mini Photo: Deutsches Museum

Apple iPod Mini, 1st generation

With the iPod Mini, the touch wheel and buttons were combined for the first time under one surface, the ‘Click Wheel’. The mp3 player came onto the market in 2004.

Das Plattenspieler-Chassis, Baujahr um 1958, konnte man je nach Verwendungsabsicht in ein Heimgerät, in ein Kombinationsgerät („Tonmöbel“) oder in ein Koffergerät einbauen. Für eine komfortable Bedienung sorgten ein Drehknopf zur Geschwindigkeitseinstellung sowie vier Bedientasten.

Telefunken record player chassis Photo: Deutsches Museum

Record player chassis

The record player chassis, built around 1958, could be installed in a home appliance, in a combination appliance (‘Tonmöbel’) or in a portable appliance, depending on the intended use. Convenient operation was ensured by a rotary knob for speed adjustment and four control buttons.

Das Ericsson GH197 war die digitale Version des EH97. Es kam ein Jahr später, 1993, auf den Markt.

Mobile phone Ericsson GH197 Photo: Deutsches Museum

Mobile phone Ericsson GH197

The Ericsson GH197 - the one with the ‘fold-out aerial’ - was the digital version of the EH97. It came onto the market a year later, in 1993. It offered top quality audio performance but was behind in some functions. For example, there was no memory for numbers, although they could be stored on the SIM card.