Welcome to the Anthropocene: The Earth in Our Hands

Location: Deutsches Museum, Munich

'Welcome to the Anthropocene: The Earth in Our Hands' opens to the public on 5 December 2014.

Together with the Deutsches Museum, the Rachel Carson Center is sponsoring a major special exhibition “Welcome to the Anthropocene: The Earth in Our Hands.” The endeavor is based on a proposal by Prof. Dr. Reinhold Leinfelder developed during his fellowship at the Rachel Carson Center and the book Menschenzeit by Christian Schwägerl. Both Leinfelder, in his function as affiliated Carson Professor, and Schwägerl are involved in the conceptualization process of the exhibition. Haus der Kulturen der Welt in Berlin is partnering in the exhibition as they will also focus on the topic with a diverse range of programs over the next two years.

Coined by the atmospheric chemist and Nobel Prize laureate Paul J. Crutzen, the term “Anthropocene” describes the idea of a new geological era following the Holocene, which began around 1800. The Anthropocene is shaped by the deep interventions into nature by humans as bio- and geological agents. As a scientific hypothesis, the Anthropocene entails the idea that the changes initiated by humans show up in geological evidence and that they have such a long-term impact that they should be recorded on the earth’s history scale. Beyond this geological interpretation, the Anthropocene denotes a new framework of thinking and action, which builds a bridge between the natural sciences and the humanities and which interlinks the history of our planet and humankind with the present and future.

In the tradition of the Deutsches Museum, the exhibition will show both historical artifacts and current objects from scientific and industrial laboratories and integrate the audience by means of interactive demonstrations and direct participation through digital media. Both the exhibition and an accompanying broad program of events will offer the public a unique opportunity to share available knowledge, pose questions, evaluate answers and form an opinion.

The project manager/curator for the Anthropocene exhibition is Dr. Nina Möllers. For more information, please contact her at n.moellers@deutsches-museum.de or +49 (0)89 2179 284.