Special Exhibitions
Current
Preview
Preview
The Tears of Trees
March 8th, 2026 to February 28th, 2027
A wide variety of plants all over the world produce resins, gums and latex to protect themselves from injury or defend against predators and pathogens. The areas of application for these valuable plant substances are just as diverse: they can be used as adhesives or sealants, in surface treatment or varnishing, in oil painting, as incense (such as frankincense and myrrh), as flavouring in retsina, or as fragrance in perfumes or medicines.
The exhibition „The Tears of Trees. Resins, gums and their stories" showcases the diversity of resins, gums, and milky juices, exploring their origins and their presence in modern-day life. A scent memory game allows visitors to experience the aromas of the resins and their use in perfumes.
Dirty Science – Höhlensedimente als Archive der Vergangenheit
April 17th to November 29th, 2026
The ‘dirt’ in the caves tells a story: the ‘Dirty Science’ exhibition demonstrates how sediments can act as archives of the past. Microscopic traces, pollen and ancient DNA reveal who used the Swabian Alb caves and how the environment and climate have changed over time. Interactive displays offer insights into research and excavation, revealing what has remained hidden for millennia.
Agora – Monumens of Democracy
May 1st to July 26th, 2026
Between the Agora's monuments, administrative buildings and council chambers, draft laws were postet, public expenditure was discussed and justice was administered. The monuments of the Agora belonged to democratic institutions and honoured citizens who were considered to be exemplary. The exhibition uses objects, replicas and models to bring orators, lotteries and voting in Athens to life. It poses three questions that are still relevant today:
How do you finance democracy? Who has a say? And how can it be defended?
Current
Current
Online
Industry of Beauty. From marble to pixels: reproductions of Roman empresses
February 6th to May 5th, 2026
The exhibition uses the example of the women of the Julio-Claudian imperial family to shed light on the techniques of serial statue production in marble, plaster, and, using 3D printing, in plastic from antiquity to the present day. It is the result of a collaboration between the ERC project The Roman Emperor Seen from the Provinces at the University of Verona and the Institute of Classical Archaeology at the University of Tübingen.
Anatomy Unbound
April 17th, 2023 to December 31st, 2027 (extended)
This exhibition was developed in three research projects by students of history and medicine under the direction of PD Dr. Henning Tümmers and Leonie Braam, M.A. (Institute for Ethics and History of Medicine) and Prof. Dr. Benigna Schönhagen and Stefan Wannenwetsch, M.A. (Grave Field X Project at the Institute for Historical Geography and Ancillary Historical Sciences). The interdisciplinary project is being developed in cooperation with Prof. Dr. Bernhard Hirt (Institute for Clinical Anatomy and Cell Analysis) and Prof. Dr. Ernst Seidl (Museum of the University of Tübingen MUT).
Colonial Shadows
from January 22nd, 2025
Elisabeth Krämer-Bannow, who was part of the expedition as self-taught illustrator, photographer and ethnologist, used her access to the women of Palau to document their daily lives and culture from a rare perspective. While male explorers often lacked access to this world, she was able to provide intimate insights that often went unobserved in ethnological research at the time. Her watercolours and photographs, on display in the exhibition, offer a vivid picture of Palauan life and a critical reflection on the colonial view of the period.