The IIII. Dimension
An Experiential Exhibition on the Phenomenon of Time
For as long as humans have existed, they have tried to determine and measure time. But what is time?
Since the beginning of time, humans have tried to determine and measure it. Yet we complain about having no time, while simultaneously taking pride in being so busy. In our fast-paced, highly industrialized society, the clock is omnipresent, governing our work life and shaping our private life. Meanwhile, “decelerators” have appeared on the scene, advocating more leisure, enjoyment, and simply more time for life’s pleasures. Time-management courses offer guidance on how to master one’s own work and time rather than be dominated by them.
The Fourth Dimension invited visitors on a journey through foreign and past, natural and technical, scientific and imaginative time systems, exploring how humans measure, perceive, organize, and alter time.
Visitors encountered both historic clocks and calendars as well as numerous models on which they could test their skills as watchmakers. Games and experiments offered the opportunity to explore personal perceptions of time. Films and sounds transported visitors into the time rhythms of nature and the universe.
The Journey Through Time Begins
The journey began in a whimsical setting of dials, hands, and gears. The sounds of ticking and striking clocks, crowing roosters, crying babies, the night watchman’s calls, and factory sirens set the tone. A “time machine” provided answers to unusual questions. Through skill, strength, and logic, visitors learned about the history of human timekeeping and time concepts.
Time Machines: How Time Can Be Measured
Large functional models of water, fire, and sand clocks, along with various types of mechanical and electrical clocks, could be observed, listened to, and in some cases handled. Opposite these models were originals: ancient sundials, precision instruments like marine chronometers, and clocks used to monitor working hours.
Best Times or Correct and Incorrect Moments
Calendars in all cultures are based both on the Earth’s orbit around the sun and the moon’s phases. Designing a calendar is therefore no simple task. To align lunar and solar cycles, most calendars include extra days or even months. Yet calendars are more than just complex calculations—they help people determine the optimal time for their activities.
Local Time: What Time Is It in Chemnitz?
A local history segment explored the early modern period, recalling the introduction of the first public clocks and the time orders of public life in Chemnitz. The exhibition revived the old tradition of the watchman, tasked with announcing the time from the High Tower, ringing the bells of St. Jakobi Church, and keeping the night watch.
Real Time: The Invention of Standard Time
On November 1, 1884, delegates from 25 countries met at the International Meridian Conference in Washington. They agreed to standardize time worldwide, overlaying the globe with 24 time lines and creating large areas sharing the same time—37 time zones in total. Today, global managers no longer heed local time differences, and trading in stocks and currencies never pauses. The dream of participating in real-time events across the globe has become reality—at least in front of screens.
The Universe: Time of the Stars
Time is elastic like chewing gum. It can stretch or shrink depending on how it is pulled and bent, as described by Einstein’s theory of relativity at the start of the 20th century, which revolutionized our concept of space and time. A film summarized key episodes in the history of cosmology—from ancient sky observations, through Newton’s absolute space, to Einstein’s relativity, and current debates on the origin and future of the universe.
Time Witnesses: 500 Million Years to Feel
Time leaves traces. In a natural history cabinet, visitors explored what stones, plants, and animals reveal about time: minerals and fossils from early geological ages, trees from centuries past, a hundred-year-old tortoise, and a mayfly.
Internal Clocks: Sensing Personal Time
At interactive stations, visitors could test their own sense of time and bodily rhythms, exploring patience and endurance, speed and reaction, as well as sensitivity and dexterity.
Film Time: Anything Is Possible on Screen
Only in film can time be accelerated, slowed, or even skipped. Time-lapse and montage allow viewers to experience space and time in ways impossible in real life.
An exhibition by the Technical Collections of the City of Dresden in cooperation with the Chemnitz Museum of Industry