Walking around the Technisches Museum (Museum of Science & Technology) is quite overwhelming. So much to see. So much to do…
- Contains numerous interactive stations and experiences
- Lots of big machines, such as locomotives, planes & industrial equipment
- All tied together in themed displays
- Soft play areas for young children, too
- Buy Technisches Museum tickets*
- See also:
What’s inside?
(The steam engine gallery on Floor 2 with a multimedia show that also plays in English; press photo © Technisches Museum Wien)
Below is my entirely subjective selection of highlights, influenced by the little boy inside me who likes to press buttons and gawp at planes.
But these few highlights cannot begin to express the wealth of exhibits and information in the Technisches Museum.
On arrival, I suggest you browse the museum map provided and pick those areas of greatest appeal to you.
If you want to fully explore a topic, you need to take quite a bit of time to go through the displays, read the texts and labels, and enjoy the audiovisual and interactive experiences.
Alternatively, you can simply drift around and point at the big trains. Whahay!
The museum adds and modifies sections regularly, so be prepared for changes to what I describe below. Not to mention the temporary special exhibitions.
Floor 1
(Entrance hall of the museum; press photo © Technisches Museum Wien)
You might rename this the “hands-on” floor, since both halves offer ample opportunity for interactive learning.
The In Motion section explores various aspects of movement, both physical and mechanical. So you might, for example…
- Try a wheelchair simulator to better grasp the challenges faced by users
- Compare the weight and inner workings of two car doors or two bicycle frames separated by years of technical development
- Use the 3D speed simulator to understand how the brain copes as external information appears at an ever greater rate
- Experience the difference between road and rail by pulling truck and train wheels
(An interactive future simulator; press photo © Technisches Museum Wien / Paul Bauer)
The Climate. Knowledge. Action! section uses displays, audio / interactive stations and even a future simulator to examine the climate crisis and propose possible ways we can help as individuals and as a society.
Now, you might find yourself shrugging your shoulders at the thought of another reminder of the threat to civilisation of global warming.
If so, the exhibits include a nice hands-on installation that covers the psychological mechanisms we use to avoid facing unpleasant facts or to justify failing to take needed action.
Floor 2
(The mighty 12.10 steam locomotive; press photo © Technisches Museum Wien)
This floor features materials, locomotives, processing machinery, and energy sources.
The Materials section, for example, explores the use, production, disposal and impacts of different materials, such as wood, concrete, plastics, aluminium or rare earths.
Of course, the huge machines within bring gasps from the little kids (and some big ones).
The innovative Linz-Donawitz converter, for example, forms the centrepiece of this area. This giant metal construction used in steel manufacture in the 1950s needs its own walkway to view it. The converter sits next to the 12.10 steam locomotive: the biggest ever produced in Austria.
Elsewhere, industrial machinery and rail vehicles dominate.
For example, look into the original sleeper car used by Empress Elisabeth in 1873 or admire the old-fashioned beauty of more steam locomotives (then see the inner workings with a cutaway example).
The dark surfaces of the tools and machinery certainly conjure up images of industrialised landscapes and the roar of factories.
The Energy exhibition tackles energy / electricity generation, with plenty more “hands-on” opportunities.
Floor 3
This floor explains why the Technisches Museum attracts much love from parents:
- The minTi (for ages 1.5 to 5) keeps the young children entertained in a science-based soft play area
- The miniXplore (for ages 3 to 8) area is designed to “stimulate experimentation and activity”
You need to book a slot online or at the ticket desk (if spaces are still available) for both areas.
(Part of the miniXplore area; press photo © Technisches Museum Wien / Hanna Haböck)
Elsewhere are exhibit-rich sections on Work and Daily Life.
Work covers everything from old tools to robotic ones.
Daily Life takes you down memory lane with displays of how household items and appliances have developed through the years. Look for the Frankfurt kitchen: the first serially produced fitted kitchen.
This floor again emphasizes the astonishing diversity within the Technisches Museum. It even has, for example, a section showing you the progression in design of public toilets.
I have to admit that seeing items from your childhood in historical displays can be quite depressing. Especially when those same displays elicit amused incredulity from youngsters.
Floor 4
(The stage and LED wall; great for performance fun, selfies and more; press photo © Technisches Museum Wien)
Now we’re back to the big machines, particularly in the Mobility area, with its helicopters, planes, and other vehicles.
For example, sit in a cable car to fly over the rooftops of La Paz in Bolivia, explore the inner workings of a 1957 De Havilland DH 104 Dove plane, or gaze at the last surviving fighter from the Austro-Hungarian Air Force.
(If you like old-timer vehicles, then consider Vienna’s Public Transport Museum, which is full of old trams, buses, and more.)
The Media section takes you through the development of various communication and imaging technologies: from early bibles to virtual reality.
History buffs will enjoy the lovely 16th-century tomes, for example, or a collection of old cameras that make a nice complement to those in the Westlicht centre.
Call me a sad old man, but I got a deep sense of achievement out of ordering coffee using a morse code telegraph system.
(Not every exhibit is futuristic. Spot the organ used by the great composer and organist Anton Bruckner, here photographed by Louis Bauer around 1875; Wien Museum Inv.-Nr. 103468; excerpt reproduced with permission under the terms of the CC0 licence)
And I got an even bigger buzz from the reproduction of the Austrian state broadcaster’s newsroom, where you can play the role of newscaster.
The collection of Musical Instruments looks at their history and construction, with a strong focus on keyboard instruments all the way through to synthesisers and automation.
You’ll find pianos, pianofortes and similar from prestigious manufacturers of the past (and present), like Streicher, Graf, or Bösendorfer. And even an 1862 organ once used by Anton Bruckner.
By the way: if such musical history appeals, be sure to also visit the Historical Musical Instrument Collection of the Kunsthistorisches Museum.
Contemporary and electronic music gets a look in too with the Music Lounge and a chance to strut your stuff on a giant karaoke stage.
And once you’ve reached the end of this top floor and seen all that the Technisches Museum has to offer, you might want a coffee (or a lie down). Fortunately, the museum has an excellent café, too.
Tickets and info
An entrance ticket from or for the Technisches Museum covers everything inside, with rare experiences requiring an additional ticket (the play areas and the VR flight simulator on Floor 1, for example).
(Booking service provided by Tiqets.com*, who I am an affiliate of)
For more general tips on the museum, tickets, and making the most of a visit, see the main article.