Explore Quantum Computing in the Future Museum
If you are a technology enthusiast as we are, here’s a great destination for you: Explore the Work and Daily Life section of the Future Museum in Nuremberg (Deutsches Museum Nürnberg – Das Zukunftsmuseum), and you will see a Bluefors XLD System exhibited there. The exhibition covers the world becoming digital, and the rise of artificial intelligence. And as the Bluefors cryogenic measurement systems enable quantum computing, it fits well in the fascinating exhibition also expanding on the possibilities of quantum computing.
Our Cryo Engineers have travelled all over the globe installing over 1000 Bluefors systems typically in scientific laboratories in universities and institutions, and in manifold of companies and organizations worldwide − often connected to quantum computing. So, you might ask, how did one of our systems end up displayed in an exhibition?
Future Museum in Nuremberg. Photos: Ludwig Olah/Deutsches Museum.
Origins in quantum collaboration
The Deutsches Museum is the world’s largest museum of science and technology, with over 100 years of history covering innovation in its locations at Munich and Bonn.
In 2016 a new branch to the museum was decided to be created in Nuremburg. The Future Museum would ask questions about how technology would continue to develop, what type of challenges this would pose for society, and how would we live in 10, 20, or 50 years. Among the exhibits would be prototypes of future technologies and existing products signaling developments of the years to come, with quantum computing as one of the innovations covered.
We joined a project run by the museum and the Finnish quantum computing company IQM, with the goal of representing the future of computing in the form of a quantum computer at the new exhibition. The project sourced back to the QUANTA program aiming to connect and promote the quantum community in Germany and Europe with the support of the German Ministry of Education and Research.
The exhibit representing a quantum computer was planned to consist of a mock-up of our XLD Dilution Refrigerator System and a quantum computer chip from IQM.
Pandemic challenges
In 2020 we began to prepare for the exhibition. A mock-up system of ours was taken out trade exhibition circulation for this purpose. The packing, shipping, and installation of the system on-site was then prepared, along with informational material for museum guides running guided tours.
The shipping and installation of the system turned out to be more complex than it was initially thought due to the COVID-19 pandemic being in full swing in spring 2020 with lockdowns worldwide. First attempt to ship the system during the first COVID spring ended up being cancelled, as lockdowns prevented the installation.
Another attempt was made in December 2020. Three days before Germany shut down in their strictest lockdown during the pandemic, we managed to ship our system to the museum. Managing Director of Bluefors GmbH, Vojko Kunej, was together with IQM able finish the installation just in time.
“It’s exciting to have a system in the Future Museum. The exhibition is inspirational and gives an opportunity to learn a lot about new technologies and areas of expertise. I hope the Bluefors system and IQM device will provide the visitors with the same experience,” Vojko Kunej said.
Installation of the system in the exhibition.
Long-awaited opening
After a long wait, the museum opened in September 2021. Minister-President of Bavaria Dr. Markus Söder and the German Minister of Science Bernd Sibler ceremoniously opened the museum for the public.
In the incredible and spacious exhibiting facilities there are exhibits constructed around the five different themes ranging from future biotechnology to life in smart mega cities.
The Bluefors system is housed in the museum for the time being, and we are glad to be part of introducing quantum computing and its possibilities to the museumgoers.
So, whether you’re still looking for a destination for the turn of the year or planning your travels for 2023, know that there is a bit of quantum future in a museum in Nuremburg.
