Munich's Top 10 : Deutsches Museum

Museum Guide

The museum’s 17,000 exhibits are displayed over six floors. The lower floors feature heavy vehicles and sections dealing with chemistry, physics, scientific instruments, and aviation. The middle floors are dedicated to the decorative arts, and the upper floors are devoted to astronomy, information technology, and microelectronics. The Zeiss Planetarium is located in the dome on the sixth floor.

Galileo’s Workshop
In the Physics section, a reconstruction of Galileo’s workshop features a large collection of equipment used by the famous astronomer and physicist.
Pharmaceuticals
The highlight of this section, opened in 2000, is a model of a human cell magnified 350,000 times.
Enigma Machine
The Enigma encoding machine, built during World War II, is a fine example of early information technology.
Zeiss Planetarium
Projected onto the 15-m (49-ft) dome of the sixth floor are the sun, the moon, the planets, constellations, and nebulae, as well as the more than 5,000 fixed stars visible to the naked eye.
Mining
Exhibits on mining technology over five centuries are featured in the mining section.
Musical Instruments
Sounds for Hitchcock’s The Birds were created on the trautonium.
Aviation and Space Travel
Dozens of airplanes are on display, including an original by the Wright brothers and the famous Junkers JU-52. You can even board some planes. More exhibits on travel are housed at Flugwerft Schleißheim, a branch museum.
Power Machinery
Steam engines, motor engines, and turbines are to be found here. Some of these colossal machines, like the Alban high-pressure steam engine are veritable works of art.
Telecommunications
Superb exhibits such as the first 19th-century telegraph, Thomas Edison’s gramophone, and a 1913 AEG transmitter are displayed here, along with the latest in communications technology.
Marine Navigation
Along with countless model ships, the vast exhibition hall features several original sail- and steamboats, such as the 1932 steam tugboat Renzo and the wooden fishing vessel Ewer Maria.

Deutsches Museum Collections

Physics & Astronomy
The physics section features mechanical aids such as pulleys, pumps, and measuring and observation devices – including Foucault’s pendulum, which featured in Umberto Eco’s eponymous novel. A sense of the size and age of our universe is conveyed in the astronomy section.
Clocks, Chemistry, Pharmaceuticals & Environment
Examples of traditional craftsmanship are on display in the extensive clock and watch exhibit. In the chemistry section, famous experiments and a reconstruction of Justus von Liebig’s laboratory fascinate visitors. Rooms dedicated to pharmaceuticals show the evolution of drug research. Ecological issues are dealt with in the environment exhibit.
Mining, Metallurgy, & Agriculture
In the basement, a re-created mine is complemented by exhibits on the more than 12,000-year-old history of metallurgy. The agriculture section demonstrates the cultivation of cereals and grain, brewing, and sugar refining.
Glass Ceramics, & Machine Tools
In this section, materials and production techniques used in a variety of industries are on display. These include exhibits demonstrating glass and paper manufacture; the range of ceramics manufacture, from bricks to fine china; and tools from Stone Age drills to computer-controlled lathes.
Energy Technology
From original windmills to plasma- and fusion-technology, this section features inventions that facilitate everyday life. The huge steam engines and high-voltage experiments are not to be missed.
Communications
In addition to telegraph and radio equipment, this department includes sections on printing technology, photography, and film. Visitors can marvel at room-sized computers from the 1940s and 1950s.
Marine Navigation
Numerous models of ships illustrate several millennia of marine navigation. The rescue cruiser Theodor Heuss is displayed in the open-air exhibition space to the south of the museum.
Aviation and Space Travel
In the vast hall, 220 years of aviation history are re-created – from the Montgolfier brothers’ hot-air balloons to modern jets. The space travel section includes a replica of the Spacelab.
Civil Engineering
An authentic suspension bridge dominates the exhibition hall; wall-mounted screens track the oscillations as visitors venture onto and then cross over this swaying bridge.
Kid’s Kingdom
Reserved exclusively for children and accompanying adults, this section is designed for young scientists, ages three and up. Interactive exhibits let children experience phenomena such as communication, energy, optics, and acoustics. The Technical Toys section offers welcome relaxation after all the hands-on research.

The Branch Museums

Flugwerft Schleißheim, the Deutsches Museum’s branch museum on the history of aviation, is located in an old airplane hanger on a historic airfield in Schleißheim (

The Verkehrszentrum, or Transportation Centre, was opened in 2003 on the Theresienhöhe (