A lively buzz of voices and the clink of glasses drifted out onto Poststraße on Friday evening during the ceremony held to mark the opening of P26, accompanied by an exuberant mood amongst organizers and guests alike.
Rector Professor Michael Hoch was also clearly delighted that the University’s latest prestigious project had now come to fruition: “As a University of Excellence, we’re exploring new and innovative horizons in science communication, and getting P26 open for business marks a major milestone in this regard. Here, in the very heart of the city, we’re giving everyone in Bonn the opportunity to see, grasp and experience the wonders of science for themselves.”
Every floor tells its own story
Across four floors, P26 invites visitors to explore a range of time periods, look at the supposedly familiar in a new light, find out more about the University, or simply—at some point in the future—relax over a coffee. During the opening evening, guests could already be seen strolling with great interest through the building, drink in hand, as they took in the various exhibits and artifacts in their unique setting or joined one of the guided tours.
For the concept behind the development and transformation of the building, the University of Bonn was supported by chezweitz, an award-winning Berlin-based firm specializing in museum and urban scenography whose work includes the Jewish Museum Berlin, the German Historical Museum in Berlin and Moderna Museet in Stockholm and which also designed the scenographic installations.
Hunting for clues on the ground floor
Entering P26 on the ground floor, the visitor will immediately be confronted with the Knowledge Lab Uni Bonn (KLUB), an exhibition space in which the University’s 30 academic and scientific collections, its Clusters of Excellence, Transdisciplinary Research Areas and other institutes, departments and units will showcase their work in a series of temporary exhibitions in the future. The first of these is a special exhibition entitled “Hunting for Clues among the Museums and Collections of the University of Bonn. Stories of Objects,” for which researchers have set out to discover the origin and acquisition history of various objects—to investigate their provenance, in other words. To this end, they are posing various questions: who collected or purchased the objects, when and how? How and why did they end up at the University of Bonn? In addition, the exhibition explores the question of how museums can handle objects from sensitive contexts in an appropriate way.
The University’s Infopunkt the first port of call for any questions about the University, can likewise be found on the ground floor in P26. In the future, a café will also invite visitors to come and extend their stay.
First floor: focus on colonial heritage
One floor above, the Global Heritage Lab provides a critical examination of museums and cultural heritage in general. The Lab is devising innovative approaches to tackling colonial pasts and supporting collaborative forms of research and teaching, focusing on bodies of knowledge that have historically been suppressed. What relationships between people and the environment exist outside European conceptions of nature and culture? How are stories of contact and conflict negotiated at a global level? How do ideas of what is considered “familiar” and “foreign” that have evolved over time shape how we coexist nowadays? And how can we forge the future together in a time of environmental and societal crises?
“Global Interrelationships in the University of Bonn Collections,” an exhibition curated together with students, is currently on display.
Second floor: sculptures and goldsmithery
It is only a short walk upstairs to the Paul Clemen Museum. The University of Bonn’s art museum is also holding exhibitions in its new location, focusing particularly on current affairs and contemporary art. On display are molds of sculptures and examples of goldsmithery that Paul Clemen (1866–1947) began to collect before the First World War. These days, the collection is likely to be among the largest of its kind held by a university in the German-speaking world. Like the exhibitions, the principle works of art presented here—which cover an impressively wide range of eras, from the Middle Ages to modern times—serve both research and teaching purposes.
Third floor: Egypt of the pharaohs
Visitors to P26 who arrive on the third floor will find themselves immersed in the world of the pharaohs. With its 1,000 or so exhibits, the Egyptian Museum presents a journey through the history and culture of Pharaonic Egypt that includes highlights not to be found in any other museum outside Egypt itself. It is also the largest collection of Egyptian artifacts in North Rhine-Westphalia. Particular emphasis is placed on the findings of research carried out in Bonn and on the broad field of appropriation phenomena, the latter being taken into account with the aid of selected gifts and loans from private collections assembled in a “Cabinet of Collecting.” The next-door seminar room in P26 holds a study collection and will be used for teaching students as well as for lectures, special exhibitions, workshops and other events.
Opening hours: the museums in P26 will be open from 2 pm to 6 pm Wednesday to Friday from October 23 onward.
The exhibition on the ground floor can be visited Monday to Friday from 10 am to 6 pm. Admission is free. Group guided tours can be arranged on request. Special guided tours and workshops are offered for schools.
Infopunkt opening hours: from October 23, 2024 onward, the information desk in P26 will be open Monday to Friday from 10 am to 6 pm. The former information desk in the University Main Building has now closed.
Here you'll find more information and details of upcoming events.
