Viseum+

In 2007, the Viseum Wetzlar opened as House of Optics and Precision Mechanics. Companies, city, and sponsors have since supported the magnificent project in financial, material, and ideational ways. “For more than ten years now, the Viseum has attracted visitors from the region and beyond,” Ralf Niggemann is happy to say, “and with a lot of dedication we managed to make the Viseum Wetzlar into one of the most important extracurricular learning environments in the region. At the same time, it has become more and more obvious that we have to give our house a new orientation for the future.”

New “Science Center” in the future Domhöfe

In fact, there have been reflections about a new concept of the Viseum in the municipal museum for quite some time. For this purpose, the association commissioned the Berlin-based creative design consultants of studio klv to do a conceptional study because their ideas had already been responsible for such successful activity museums as the Dynamikum in Pirmasens or the Spectrum in Berlin. “The central result of the study was the realization that the attentiveness with regard to quality and quantity depends clearly on the size of the Viseum,” Joachim Achenbach explains. “That means: even if millions of euros were invested in the existing exhibition on an area of 300 square meters, we could not expect much more than 5,000 visitors per year.”

Based on this awareness, the people in charge went in search of a bigger location which could be used in more flexible ways and which was situated in the city center. That they might have found it now seems like a fortunate coincidence. As it happens – due to some rescheduling of the multiplex cinema – about 800 square meters in the best location have become available in the future “Domhöfe” on Domplatz, opposite the Cathedral. There, the new Viseum+ would have more than three times more space and the terrific opportunity as a Science Center to expand the current spectrum of optical, mechanical, and electronic exhibits. The program for visitors could be themed with regard to both specific and diversified target audiences. The same applies to a special STEM display which would be aimed at arousing the interest of children and adolescents in technical topics and job profiles.

Viseum+ – a project with great appeal and reach

As Science Center with three times the space, the experts of studio klv predict, the Viseum+ could reach figures of at least 33,000 visitors per year. “This means, though, that in addition to these investments we have to professionalize running the Viseum in terms of staff as well. A project of this dimension cannot be managed in an honorary capacity anymore,” Joachim Achenbach says. In the coming weeks and months, the supporting association’s board of directors will concentrate on the question of how to accomplish this under financial aspects. They want to arrive at a decision by October. The investment costs are estimated to amount to around € 2.5 million, added to that there are the staff and operational costs. “We are extremely motivated and believe that we will be able to accomplish it,” Ralf Niggemann points out. “Until then we will try to convince as many supporters as possible of this lighthouse project which will shine its light from Domplatz across the city into the whole region.”

Additional Information:
www.viseum-wetzlar.de