Astronomy is one of humanity’s oldest sciences and is particularly well-suited to explaining what science actually is, how it works, and why it’s so fascinating. With numerous exhibits and interactive stations, the history of stargazing from the Enlightenment to the present day comes to life, while visitors can become tinkerers and researchers themselves: They can try out scientific methods such as measuring, classifying, or observing firsthand, as well as significant experimental setups from the history of science, such as Galileo Galilei’s fall trough for investigating gravity, or Thomas Young’s double-slit experiment, which demonstrates the wave nature of light.
A highlight is the mechanical ceiling planetarium, several meters wide, which visitors are allowed to set in motion themselves. At the heart of the exhibition are the historical instruments from the 18th-century Mannheim Observatory preserved by the museum—ranging from a pocket sundial to celestial globes and telescopes, all the way to a wall quadrant nearly three meters long and weighing 500 kilograms.
A highlight is the mechanical ceiling planetarium, several meters wide, which visitors are allowed to set in motion themselves. At the heart of the exhibition are the historical instruments from the 18th-century Mannheim Observatory preserved by the museum—ranging from a pocket sundial to celestial globes and telescopes, all the way to a wall quadrant nearly three meters long and weighing 500 kilograms.
