Museum of Energy History (s)

Museum of Energy History (s)

logo
Data
place	Hanover coordinates: 52 ° 22 '8.6 "  N , 9 ° 43' 21.8"  E
Art	Industrial culture , technology
opening	April 25, 1979
operator	Avacon Netz GmbH
Website	www.energiegeschichte.de
ISIL	DE-MUS-284713

Headquarters of the Museum of Energy History (s) in Hanover

The Museum für Energiegeschichte (n) (meg) is a technology museum in Hanover operated by the energy supply company Avacon .

history

The foundation stone for the museum in its current form was laid in 1979 on the occasion of the 50th anniversary of the Hanover-Braunschweigische Stromversorgungs AG ( HASTRA ), one of the five predecessor companies of Avacon. The museum was initially called the "Electrotechnical Museum of HASTRA" and for the first eight years of its existence it was housed on the premises of the HASTRA headquarters in Calenberger Neustadt . The mission of the company museum was initially to document the change in the field of electrical engineering. For this purpose, a collection of historical and more recent exhibits from the history of electricity was built up. In 1987 the museum was given new and larger premises and moved to its current location at Humboldtstrasse 32. Efforts have been made since the late 1990s to open the museum to a wider audience and to anchor it in the Hanoverian museum landscape. Since 1999, the technology museum has been called the “Museum of Energy History (s)”. It has appeared under the abbreviation “meg” since 2020.

Permanent exhibition, exhibits and collection

The museum's 650 m² permanent exhibition shows exhibits from around 300 years of electricity use. A tour of the museum begins with an electrifying machine as a replica of a device from the 1780s. Historical experiments with which researchers and scientists in the 18th century approached the phenomena of electricity in experiments are authentically reproduced for visitors. In addition to the beginnings of modern energy technology , the Museum of Energy History (s) shows the history of electrification, power supply and the fields of application of electricity. Around 1,000 historical exhibits provide an insight into the various fields of application of electricity. The collection focuses on lighting, telecommunications , radio and television , medical technology , personal care and hygiene , heating, cooling, washing and electrically operated toys. Special exhibits are the replica of the dynamo by Werner von Siemens from 1866, a 15 kilovolt - Power pole from 1914, a mercury vapor rectifiers of the General Electric Company ( AEG ) from 1928 as well as an extensive collection of detector apparatus and Radio receivers from the 1920s and 1930s.

The museum's library includes around 3,000 monographs , edited volumes and periodicals from the fields of news, energy and electrical engineering. It covers the period from 17th to 21st Century, with the temporal focus in the 20th century. The museum also houses the historical collection of Deutsche Grammophon GmbH, founded in Hanover in 1898 by Emil Berliner and Joseph Berliner . This includes historical written documents, sound carriers, playback devices and literature.

• Exhibits
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  Model of the dynamo machine by Werner von Siemens, 1866

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  Model of the world's first electric train made by Siemens & Halske in Berlin, 1879

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  Mercury vapor rectifier from the Allgemeine Elektricitäts-Gesellschaft (AEG), 1928

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  Incandescent lamp with plug adapter, around 1920

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  Electric fire "Kugelfüßler" by the designer Peter Behrens (1868–1940), around 1920

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  Iron electric meter with a porcelain iron, late 1920s

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  Coin-operated electrifying device, around 1912

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  Electric motor car with 7.5 hp, around 1920

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  Music box "Rock-Ola" for 60 single records, around 1960

concept

The museum has around 10,000 visitors annually. There are regular guided tours for children, schoolchildren and adults. The museum also takes part in International Museum Day , Museum Night and Discovery Day in the Hanover region. In addition, the museum is devoting lectures and panel discussions to current issues relating to the topics of the energy transition and the energy future. The concept of the house includes the presentation of thematically very broad special exhibitions from the areas of energy, technology and cultural history. The museum is also on tour with the traveling exhibitions "Energy history (s)", "Energy transition (s)" and "Energy supply today" in various cities and communities in Lower Saxony and Saxony-Anhalt .

Special exhibitions

• 2002: "The shining world of the 50s"
• 2005: “Hot air and sharp blades. Lots of tools for hairstyles "
• 2007: “Fast mixers, hot ovens. The kitchen is going electric "
• 2008/2009: “Quite a lady and yet a housewife. Fashion in advertising for vacuum cleaners, radio & Co. "
• 2009: "Solar weeks"
• 2009/2010: "Electric Toys"
• 2010/2011: “Amber, lightning and battery. The discovery of electricity "
• 2011 "electrifying. Advertising for electricity 1890-2010 "
• 2012/2013: “Lights on! How light became electric. "
• 2013/2014/2015: “Energy transition (s) - history. Backgrounds. Visions "
• 2015/2016: “78, 45, 33 - From gentle tone to strong sound. The record inspires the world "
• 2016: "An empire that I founded - Werner von Siemens and electrical engineering"
• 2018: "Energy supply today - networked. intelligent. digital."
• 2020: "On receipt - 100 years of radio"

Publications

• Since 2000: Collection sheet / Museum for Energy History (s); avacon , irregularly appearing magazine , Hannover: Museum für Energiegeschichte (n), 2000ff.
• Frauke Engel , Kathrin Symens: Quite a lady and yet a housewife. Fashion in advertising for vacuum cleaners, radio & Co. Hannover 2008 (published by the Museum for Energy History (s), Hannover).
• Dietrich zur Nedden et al. , Silvia Schmitz (arr.): Energy stories . Ed .: Museum for Energy History (s), Lamspringe / Hildesheim: Quensen, 2007, ISBN 978-3-922805-92-2 ; contents
• Lutz Pape, Hans-Jürgen Weinert: tub washing machine & house telegraph. Beginnings of electrical engineering in the household. Braunschweig 1993, ISBN 3-07-509513-3

Web links

Commons : Museum of Energy History (s)  - Collection of images, videos and audio files

• Official website

Individual evidence

1. ^ Tim S. Müller: The Museum for Energy History (s) - History of technology in the center of Hanover . In: Network Industrial Culture in Middle Lower Saxony eV (Hrsg.): Energy history . (Network for Industrial Culture, Issue 4). ecrivir, Hannover 2015, p. 46-48 .
2. ↑ Hannoversche Allgemeine (haz.de) of July 21, 2011 : Museum for Energy History (s)
3. ↑ Hannoversche Allgemeine (haz.de) of November 7, 2013 : sulfur balls and sunshine