A computing machine for the Pope
Before computers, people had calculators and adding machines. And before that there was a very special technology called the “arithmometer”, invented by Thomas de Colmar, a mechanical calculator capable not only of adding but also subtracting, multiplying and dividing ... it could even track subtotals. Patented in 1820, de Colmar gifted his invention to Pope Pius IX as an extraordinarily prestigious showcase piece. The device outshined competing machines, and has now made its way to Bonn via many a detour— which visitors can now find out about at a special exhibition in the Arithmeum entitled "200 years of Thomas de Colmar’s Arithmomètres: Prototypes, Showcase Models and Serial Manufactures.”
Where: Arithmeum, Lennéstr. 2, 53113 Bonn,
Opening hours: Tues.—Sun. 11 am—6 pm. Guided tours: Sundays at 4:30 pm
Further information at: arithmeum.uni-bonn.de
Seeing the World in the Desert House
Visitors to the now fully renovated and significantly enlarged Desert House in the Botanic Garden get to travel the world, experiencing flora from Mexico to Madagascar—with the Americas to one side and Africa and Arabia on the other.
Where: University of Bonn Botanic Garden, entrance Meckenheimer Allee 171
Greenhouse opening hours: Sun.—Fri. 10 am—5:30 pm
Further information at: botgart.uni-bonn.de/
Eat Honey or Starve
The Ayoréode lived as a nomadic people in the tropical dry forests of Bolivia and Paraguay up until the 20th century, although some have retained the traditional lifestyle. A BASA exhibition entitled “Eat Honey or Starve” focuses on the Ayoréode tribes’ knowledge of and relationship with bees. Visitors will find out how honey was a critical food for the people, who furthermore utilized beeswax as raw material for an adhesive and other purposes. The exhibition also sheds light on their methods for collecting and storing honey.
Where: Bonn Collection of the Americas (BASA); University of Bonn, Oxfordstraße 15, 53111 Bonn.
Opening hours: Tues.—Fri. 10 am—6.00 pm
Further info at: basa.uni-bonn.de/museumsbesuch
