The Visible Storage

The first of its kind in Europe: In 1999, the Übersee-Museum inaugurated as the first museum in Europe the Visible Storage “Übermaxx”. With its Visible Storage, the museum makes a large share of its collection publicly accessible in this manner. The Visible Storage is located next to the Übersee-Museum and in the same building as the Cinemaxx cinema. The Visible Storage “Übermaxx” houses a large part of the museum’s 1.2 million objects. On display across different storeys, visitors will be able to find everything from everyday objects right up to very strange exhibits –these include a fish-skin anorak and the flightless Kakapo parrot to the silverware of the North-German Lloyd or Linné’s two-toed sloth.

With the purpose of creating a stronger connection between the Übermaxx Visible Storage and the main building, in addition to facilitating visitors’ access to the collection, the two buildings were connected with a bridge in 2008, with financial support of the Waldemar Koch foundation. Themed tours and an interactive search game for children guide visitors through the variety of exhibits, which are arranged and displayed according to the subject areas of ethnology, natural history and trade.

A free media guide is available for the Visible Storage. You can use it during your visit with free wifi in the museum or online: