Field Trip to the Press Office of the Deutsches Museum

Within the subject of Professional Communication, international students combine theoretical classes with field trips, with the ultimate purpose of getting to know how the Media Landscape of Munich works. For this course, there were four different field trips prepared, and the first one was to the Press Office of the Deutsches Museum, last November 5^th.

Within this field trip, we got to explore the museum and its press office. The tour was guided by the press officer Gerrit Faust, who heads the press and public relations of the museum. He kindly explained everything and, answered all the questions that came up. We met up at the entrance of the museum, located on Munich´s Museum Island, next to the Isar River. One thing that surprised me a lot, is that we were asked to deposit all our personal belongings at the locker room, with the purpose of maintaining the museum secure. On the other hand, in Spain, you are asked to pass your things through a scanner, which I thing is much more practical that leaving all your things behind. Nevertheless, once everyone deposited their personal belongings, we started off with a guided tour of the museum.

The museum is called the German Museum of Masterpieces of Science and Technology, but colloquially called the German Museum. It is one of the most visited and largest science and technology museums in the world; with 28,000 objects from around 50 areas of science. The museum first opened on 28 June 1903, as an initiative of Oskar Von Miller to found the first science and technology museum within Munich. Since then, it receives about 1.5 million visitors per year. Right now, the museum is going through a renovation process and some of the exhibitions remain closed temporarily before reopening in 2021. Within the renovation, the museum has 25,000 square meters of exhibition space; as an interesting fact, this is much more than you could see in a day! Nevertheless, Mr. Faust assured that is becoming a hard task to attract visitors to the museum since the renovation started. But, they have a strong communication policy and are trying their best to still attract the public and maintain their reputation.

During the guided tour, we got to see: industrial robots, coffee machines, locomotives, models of atoms, life boats, sailing ships… it is unbelievable all the abundance the museum has. Moreover, there are lots of interesting displays such us live demonstrations, paper making, glass-blowing, experiments… After the fun guided tour, we went to the press office of the museum and got to chat with Mr. Faust for a while. We got lots of interesting insights facts from the museum and had plenty of time to ask him questions. One of the things that surprised the most, was the huge amount of money the museum spends on the maintenance and renovation of the exhibitions. I really enjoyed this part of the field trip because I had never thought of working at the press office of a museum, and it is actually far more interesting that I thought! And perhaps, I might apply for an internship within this field once I go back to Spain.

The field trip concluded with the visit to the press office, nevertheless at the end I noticed a very special part of the museum: the Kinderreich! It is a place to entertain children from three to eight years, where there are thousands of activities for them. It is a very fun and interactive way of getting children in touch with science. If you have any younger family members, totally recommend them to go there! Note that Kinderreich closes at 4.30pm, just half an hour before the museum does.

Since I am a very curious person and love finding new things, I had already visited the museum within my first weeks in Munich. Nevertheless, this second visit was more special because I got to see the museum from an inside point of view, thanks to Mr. Faust; and also, because it was related to my communication studies. Since the museum is huge, it can be pretty overwhelming after a while, so it is best to prioritize what you want to see. Even if you are not a huge fan of science, the Deutsches Museum is a must visit for anyone in Munich. By all the exhibitions they have, you are able to experience science from a different perspective, and perhaps end up enjoying it! The museum is open daily from 9.00 am to 17.00 pm; but, the last admission is at 16.30 pm. Tickets can be purchased either in the museum (from 9.00 to 16.00), or online. Prices may vary depending of the age. I would strongly recommend purchasing tickets online, therefore you avoid long queues. Now that you have all the important information about this amazing museum, don´t hesitate and visit it! You would not regret it!