Photo by Iryna Sylinnyk. Catch The Futurium’s free lecture ‘Common prejudices towards artificial intelligence’ on Oct 10.
Noticed any space ships in Berlin recently? The matt-black rectangular structure along the Spree comes close. The Futurium, a science-based museum/public lecture hall mash-up, designed by Bundesregierung contest-winners, Berlin-based architect agency Richter-Musikowski, opened its doors last month: inside you’ll find an entirely bi-lingual, interactive exhibition on the first floor; lecture, workshop, and discussion spaces on the ground floor; and a hands-on ‘lab’, fully equipped with 3D printers and laser cutters, ready to be used during one of the regular Thursday ‘Open lab sessions’ in the basement. Oh, and there is a ‘sky walk’ on the building’s minimum-energy, solar panelled rooftop, with a 360° view over the city. The new-born institution’s main attraction is definitely the (free!) permanent exhibition though, which features surprising scenarios (including miniature models!) of possible future developments, like using super fungi to build houses, urban sky scraper farms and DNA specific medicines. If all these nerdy science shenanigans are not usually your cup of tea, you’ll probably still want to have a go on the enormous indoor swings, which, according to Futurium president Dr. Stefan Brandt, are meant to bring visitors back into focus. Or maybe weird out over a human-sized (arguably fetishised) robot, that can function entirely autonomously and react to voices and facial expressions. Not sure about AI? Join their free ‘Common prejudices towards artificial intelligence’ lecture on Oct 10!
Futurium | Alexanderufer 2, Mitte. Mon, Wed, Fri, Sat, Sun 10:00- 18:00; Thu 10:00-20:00.
