Just ahead of its official centenary, the museum marked a major milestone by receiving its 100 millionth visitor—a record for the institution. Founded on May 7, 1925, the museum has become one of the world’s largest science and technology museums, housing a vast collection of around 125,000 items, ranging from a 3.7-billion-year-old moon rock to the 100-ton U1 submarine.
Anniversary Program to Feature Top Political Guests and Free Weekend Festivities
The official ceremony on May 5 will welcome German President Frank-Walter Steinmeier, Bavarian Premier Markus Söder, and Munich Mayor Dieter Reiter. On the weekend of May 10 and 11, the museum will open its doors to the public free of charge. “Our mission has always been to make knowledge accessible to everyone,” said General Director Wolfgang Heckl.
Renovation Project Extended to 2028 Due to Setbacks
About half of the museum’s 45,000 square meters of exhibition space is currently under renovation. The refurbishment, initially expected to be completed in time for the centennial, has been delayed due to various complications including construction hold-ups, the bankruptcy of the original architectural firm, and rising costs. What began as a €445 million project has now swelled to €750 million, with the German federal government and the state of Bavaria covering the €300 million overrun.
The full reopening is now planned for 2028—timed with the 125th anniversary of the museum’s founding in 1903 by engineer Oskar von Miller.
Modernized Galleries Already Reopen with New Exhibitions
In 2022, the first phase of the refurbished museum opened, unveiling 19 new permanent exhibitions. Topics include nuclear physics, film and photography, and health sciences. Highlights feature a nuclear fission model, an aviation and spaceflight hall, and the original incubator used by Robert Koch in his tuberculosis research.
The second phase of construction is currently underway. Popular attractions like the replica mine with life-size miner figures and the high-voltage demonstration are temporarily closed. While the latter is set to return, the mine’s future remains uncertain due to funding requirements for reconstruction.
Museum Building a Landmark of Innovation Since 1906
Before the current structure was completed, early exhibitions were held at the Alte Nationalmuseum and the former cavalry barracks. The new building, completed in 1925 on Munich’s Museum Island, was one of the first in the region built entirely of reinforced concrete. The structure itself became an exhibit, resting on more than 1,500 concrete piles that each support up to 40 tons.
At the time, the projection planetarium was a world first. The museum also drew praise for its hands-on labs, life-size ship decks, and full-scale industrial exhibits, including ships, trains, aircraft, and the iconic U1 submarine.
Opening in 1925 Was a Major Cultural Event of the Weimar Era
The museum’s inauguration in 1925 was one of the last major civic celebrations of the Weimar Republic. Children were given the day off school, and the city marked the occasion with festivities. Low-income families received a one-mark allowance—enough at the time to buy a liter of beer at Oktoberfest or pay for two adult museum visits, with tickets costing 50 pfennigs.
Reexamining the Museum’s History During the Nazi Era
The museum was ideologically repurposed under the Nazi regime. Adolf Hitler ordered a special automotive hall built, and the library hosted the antisemitic exhibition “The Eternal Jew.” Recent archival research by curator Wilhelm Füßl has brought renewed attention to Arthur Schönberg, a co-founder and cousin of composer Arnold Schönberg. A Jewish engineer and chief scientific curator, Arthur Schönberg was later deported and died in 1943 in the Theresienstadt ghetto.
Postwar Reconstruction and Continued Growth
After suffering heavy damage during World War II, the museum partially reopened in 1947. It took until the 1960s to fully restore pre-war exhibition levels. Visitor numbers surpassed one million for the first time in the 1970s, and expansion has continued ever since. Major additions include the aviation hall (1984), the Schleißheim aircraft museum (1992), the German Museum Bonn (1995), the transport center (2003), and the German Museum Nuremberg (2021).
“The museum will never be truly finished,” said Heckl, underscoring a century-long commitment to scientific education and innovation.
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