Duration: September 24 – December 1, 2024, Chemnitz Museum of Industry
Opening: September 23, 6 p.m.
Press preview: September 20, 10 a.m.
The special exhibition explores the path toward a climate-neutral future and presents solutions for a secure energy supply. The traveling exhibition is funded by the Federal Ministry of Education and Research (BMBF).
What will the power grids of the future look like? How can industry use CO₂ as a raw material? And how can energy efficiency in industry be increased? These questions are addressed in the exhibition Power2Change: Mission Energiewende, which has been touring Germany since August 2022. From September 24 to December 1, it will be on display at the Chemnitz Museum of Industry. The exhibition was created as part of the BMBF-funded collaborative project Science Communication Energy Transition.
Mario Brandenburg, Parliamentary State Secretary to the Federal Minister of Education and Research: “With the traveling exhibition Power2Change, the future European Capital of Culture Chemnitz once again takes a look into the future. The exhibition shows how we can successfully achieve the energy transition through research and innovation. Visitors can form their own science-based impressions on-site. The Federal Ministry for Education and Research supports both the exhibition project and the underlying research. It is clear: to successfully implement the energy transition, we need the necessary technologies and broad societal support.”
Jürgen Kabus, Director of the Chemnitz Museum of Industry: “I am pleased that, within the Energy-themed year of the Saxon Industrial Museum Association, we can present the special exhibition Power2Change: Mission Energiewende at the Chemnitz Museum of Industry. With Chemnitz Leuchtet (until May 2024), the museum creates an ideal link from past through present to future, encouraging reflection on energy, energy consumption, sources, and carriers—and the question: How do we want to live in the future? The Chemnitz Museum of Industry, as the ‘Green Vault of Industrial Culture’ with its industry-neutral permanent exhibition, is the ideal place to engage with these questions.”
Power2Change: Mission Energiewende highlights the path to a climate-neutral future and presents solutions for a secure and affordable energy supply. Interactive media stations demonstrate ways in which industry, commerce, and transport can become climate-neutral. The exhibition encourages participation and discussion: visitors can embark on a mission to shape the energy transition, forming their own opinions by learning about challenges, solutions, and research projects.
The four thematic areas of the exhibition show how energy and raw materials can be supplied without fossil fuels such as oil, gas, and coal:
Connect explores the “power highways of the future” and how renewable energy can reach where it is needed.
Distribute explains how industry could flexibly respond to energy supply and demand, e.g., producing different paper types depending on energy availability.
Utilize examines how industrial CO₂ emissions can be reused as raw materials, for example to produce socks or pharmaceutical ingredients.
Transform focuses on climate-neutral fuels such as e-fuels and their potential for transport.
Which energy transition type are you?
Visitors can actively participate in the energy transition test: at the stations, they can vote using a chip card and reflect on questions such as: Will I change my consumption habits? What is my opinion on energy imports or expanding renewable energy? At the end of the tour, participants receive a personalized evaluation indicating their energy transition type.
Power2Change: Energy Mobile and Events
Alongside the exhibition, the Power2Change Energy Mobile visits schools around Chemnitz. Students can generate hydrogen, experience 3D printing of a wind turbine, or travel virtually to 2045. In the workshop WATT VOLT IHR?, classes (grades 7–12) discuss energy topics.
The exhibition’s accompanying program includes additional events at the Chemnitz Museum of Industry to deepen the topics, offer playful learning experiences, and stimulate discussion. On November 6, Power2Change invites visitors to a Science Salon: Future of Energy at 6 p.m.
The exhibition was developed collaboratively within the Science Communication Energy Transition project by partners from research, museums, and science communication.
For information on the exhibition, Energy Mobile, and events:
www.power2change-energiewende.de
muspaed@saechsisches-industriemuseum.de
The exhibition can be visited from September 24 to December 1, 2024.
Opening hours: Tuesday–Friday: 9 a.m.–5 p.m.; Saturday, Sunday, public holidays: 10 a.m.–5 p.m.
Press contact Chemnitz Museum of Industry
Almut Hertel
Tel.: 0371 3676-135
presse@industriemuseum-chemnitz.de
Your contact at Wissenschaft im Dialog (WiD)
Communication WissKomm Energy Transition / Ariane Trautvetter
Tel.: 0170 7241844
ariane.trautvetter@w-i-d.de
Project Manager Wisskomm Energy Transition/Beate Langholf
Tel.: 030 2062295-50
beate.langholf@w-i-d.de
Joint Project: Science Communication Energy Transition
In the exhibition Power2Change: Mission Energiewende, visitors embark on a “Mission Energy Transition” and learn more about the path to a climate-neutral future. The exhibition was jointly developed within the framework of the joint project Science Communication Energy Transition by partners from research, museums, and science communication. The coordination of the joint project is managed by DECHEMA e. V. and Fraunhofer UMSICHT. The exhibition itself was developed by the LWL Industrial Museum, Westfälisches Landesmuseum für Industriekultur, and Klimahaus® Bremerhaven. Wissenschaft im Dialog is responsible for the accompanying program, the touring of the exhibition, and project communication. Research content for the exhibition and accompanying program is provided by the Kopernikus projects in collaboration with DECHEMA e. V., and the joint project Carbon2Chem® in collaboration with Fraunhofer UMSICHT, the Fraunhofer Cluster CINES, and other partners. The exhibition’s concept and reception are scientifically monitored by the Technical University of Ilmenau. The joint project is funded by the Federal Ministry of Education and Research.
Chemnitz Museum of Industry
Where once iron casting and mechanical engineering shaped everyday life, today a restored museum complex stands as a testament to the successful reuse of a historic industrial site. In a factory hall built in 1907 by Hermann and Alfred Escher, the Chemnitz Museum of Industry presents a permanent exhibition on the industrial history of Saxony. Displayed are industrial and consumer products, everyday objects, and luxury goods that have been produced and used by the people of Saxony for more than two centuries. Highlights include the Textile Street and numerous machines in action, from the historic transmission workshop to modern industrial robots. Rotating special exhibitions explore various aspects of industrial culture, while a wide range of events and extensive educational programs complement the museum’s offerings.
www.industriemuseum-chemnitz.de
Wissenschaft im Dialog (WiD) – Germany’s Organization for Science Communication
Wissenschaft im Dialog (WiD) is Germany’s central organization for science communication. As a non-profit GmbH, WiD supports science and research by providing expertise for effective societal communication, developing new engagement formats, and encouraging scientists to interact with the public—including on controversial research topics. WiD raises public awareness of the societal relevance of science and fosters understanding of research processes and findings. To achieve this, WiD organizes nationwide discussions, school projects, exhibitions, competitions, and maintains online platforms related to science and science communication.Founded in 2000 on the initiative of the Stifterverband by Germany’s major scientific organizations, WiD also involves science-oriented foundations as partners. The organization receives project-based funding from the Federal Ministry of Education and Research.
www.wissenschaft-im-dialog.de