The Future Initiative

The exhibition building on Museum Island has been extended again and again, but never really renovated. That is why Federal President Horst Köhler launched the Future Initiative in 2006. Among other things, it includes a general renovation of the collection building as well as updating and redesigning the exhibitions. An important element of the plan is that during the modernisation, part of the museum will always remain open to visitors from all over the world. In the course of the next few years, the committed museum management succeeds in winning far-sighted patrons and responsible companies for start-up financing - a prerequisite for the participation of the public sector in the entire financing.

After extensive preparations, the hot phase of the renovation begins in October 2015. Thousands of objects, from aircraft to turbines, are packed up and transported to depots. Afterwards, the empty exhibition rooms are returned to their shell condition, and subsequent installations are demolished. New technical cores are installed, walls, ceilings and floors are renovated. At the same time, the exhibitions are prepared - in the process, departments such as Aviation and Astronautics are given a contemporary makeover, and completely new exhibitions such as Health or Image Script Codes are also being created.

In July 2022, the time has come: the first part of the modernisation is completed. And while the second part of the museum is being renovated in the background, visitors can already experience knowledge in a completely new way on 20,000 square metres in the completely renovated exhibitions.