Humboldt-Box | Give it a Chance

 Yes, we all know Berlin isn't Paris when it comes to outer appearances, and Berliners are definitely used to a lot of, err, “experimental” architecture. Even so, the new Humboldt box across from Museumsinsel is a tough one to swallow even for natives. It looks like a UFO that someone planted in the middle of the city next to some of the few historical buildings we do have. And it's not going away any time soon. At least not until 2019, when the Humboldt Forum is meant to be incorporated into the structure of the new Berliner Schloss.

Few people really know who put this weird-looking cube there and what it's for. And not a lot of people seem to really care. But – give the UFO a chance! There's more to its 32x20x28 m area than one might suspect at first.

The first floor features an exhibition centering around the Berliner Schloss' history, it's set around a detailed miniature model of the soon-to-be rebuilt castle including the Berliner Dom, Museumsinsel and Spree river.

The next two levels are a bit tricky – it seems like a relatively random collection of things: Chinese porcellain, instruments from all over the world and artefacts from all different times and places. There's a bunch of interactive stuff, video installations, a citrus-tasting station and boxes with books and Chinese toys. There's even a bunch of frogs in jars on the third floor. “These can jump up to 12 meters far”, as one of the security guards explains to us in two different languages. The exhibition has been labeled “Globalization” and is supposed to offer an insight into the future direction of the Humboldt Forum's research activity.  

Staatliche Museen zu Berlin, Fotograf: Achim Kleuker

The castle is meant to later house the ethnological museum, as well as the Museum of Asian Art, the Stiftung Preußischer Kulturbesitz, a Humboldt University campus and the Berlin public library. Visitors especially dug the touch-screen instrument memory game: Push corresponding buttons to discover the names and origins of the instruments.

The fourth floor can be booked for private events and the top floor houses the HU box's café and restaurant, which have a pretty neat terrace with quite the impressive view over the not-always-so beautiful city of Berlin. 

(jh)