How do you buy a dinosaur? What do children want to see? What is decolonization? Are all the animals really real? Where do the outrigger canoes from Samoa come from? Were they collected, bought, stolen, given as gifts, or traded? And what roles did museum staff play as collectors and commissioners, and what roles did shipping companies, merchants, missionaries, and traders play?
Where From – Where To? Tracking the Past The History of a museum
Fan Favorites and Palace Revolts Turbulent Times Back to the Sources
In the exhibition “Spurensuche,” the Übersee-Museum takes a critical look at its own past. The exhibition explores both the museum’s collection acquisitions and presentation methods over its first 100 years, as well as the latest findings from the museum’s internal provenance research on the colonial era and the Nazi era. And visitors can once again see some of the museum’s most popular exhibits, such as the dinosaur skeleton, the colonial general store, and a South Sea house.
Visitors and Employees Share Their Stories With Grandma in Africa Watch for hours
At the exhibition, visitors were asked to share their personal memories of the Übersee-Museum. From school field trips to Sunday traditions to their first encounter with the wider world – the Übersee-Museum evokes vivid memories– which you can read about here:
Anyone who wants to know why the museum still collects art today, how provenance research is conducted, or what curators’ work entails will find the answers in the exhibition. In the “Museum Questions” media station, museum staff share their insights.
Loot, Nights of Bombing, and Iconoclasts Mediaguide A Feast for the Ears
Euphoria, heyday, closure, reconstruction, crises, and trends – a free media guide is available for the exhibition. You can access it during your visit using our free Wi-Fi in the museum or simply online. A media guide for children is also available online and at the exhibition.
