Experiencing Scientific Phenomena

The AEDC will focus on physicist Albert Einstein but also, generally, on the world of modern physics. It is modeled on the Swiss Science Center Technorama in Winterthur, Switzerland, where young and old visitors can explore scientific phenomena through experiments at interactive stations. In Winterthur, visitors' own discoveries are supplemented with demonstrations, workshops, and laboratory rooms that enables a very direct engagement with physical phenomena.

Similar interactive exhibitions, multimedia stations, and computer animations will also become important tools in Ulm when it comes to explaining Einstein's theories and their influence on the modern world. However, the exhibition will also provide a tangible insight into what the famous scientist was like as a person and what he thought about fascism and Judaism. The Einsteins – Museum of an Ulm Family and the Einstein Archives at the Hebrew University of Jerusalem will contribute letters and furnishings for this purpose.

Daniel Libeskind presented his preliminary design for the AEDC last week, and the city took the opportunity to promote the project. The hard edges and pointed projections for which Libeskind is otherwise known have become wide curves and rounded shapes in the AEDC. This is probably not so much due to the architect's age, but rather to the fact that arches and curves are more associated with Einstein's physical theories on space and time. According to Libeskind, the curved lines are the built expression of Einstein's theory of relativity. Planned for the site of the former headquarters of Stadtwerke Ulm/Neu-Ulm (a municipal utility company), the five-story building, rising to a height of 50 meters in the preliminary design, will occupy a floor area of 2,500 square meters.

While it was said years ago that the AEDC would open on the 150th anniversary of the physicist's birth in 2029, construction is now expected to begin in 2030. The project has always been considered ambitious — and is still not financed. Major donors, crowdfunding campaigns, and funds from the city and Ulm University are to make the construction possible. Once open, the city hopes to see positive economic effects and a growing importance of the location for international events and specialist congresses. Those responsible see the AEDC as both an architectural highlight and a magnet for visitors: The Albert Einstein Discovery Center Ulm Association estimates that around 200,000 people will annually visit the building.