SREF Project day

SREF Project day

Today I had the luxury of exploring Munich with some classmates and go to some cool museums. The first museum that we went to was the toy museum that had a cool wind chimes toy outside on the ceiling of the entrance. As you went in you had to start on the 5th floor using the elevator and work your way down. At first the elevator scared me but then I felt like a new Barbie doll coming out of the box. While exploring the toy museum, I found it fascinating that some of the toys there I was able to see at my grandparents house. Some of the toys are also from tv shows from 1930s like Popeye, the Yellow kid, and Daffy Duck. It was fascinating to see that they were able to make toys back in the day and in many different varieties. My favorite part was seeing the start of the Barbies. Barbie came out in 1959 in New York. The downside of the Barbie is that it was influencing the way that women should look and weigh. It gave a very negative connotation that everyone should be blond, tall, and weigh the less as you could. 

Christina💜

SREF project day - Jesse

 On June 1st, we had a day to work on our SREF projects.   We were tasked with finding places around the city that would be interesting to someone else doing a study abroad program similar to ours about the history of science and technology.  

The first place that I went was the Stadtmuseum.  There were plaques talking about the armor, various weapons, and briefly about Count Rumford's theory of heat transfer.  

The suit of armor shown above is called Maximilian Armor and is believed to have come from the royal armory.  This tournament armor made around 1515 had a hook on its right side for resting the lance on.  The plaques describe the different details of the armor like the shoulder board with crimped edges around the neck and the specific style of footwear.   The other armor in the pictures were meant to be worn over chainmail by guards on the city watch.  The black armor shown below would have been worn by the troop leader in 1570.  

There were also sections about architecture.  One that I found was interesting was about how the Welsche Bonnet topped towers of the Frauenkirche in Munich were controversial for not using the typical Gothic Spires.  Shown below is a model of the Frauenkirche. 

After that, I went to the Beir Oktoberfest Museum.   Where I learned about the science behind the brewing process in Germany.   I was also interested in seeing Professor Carl Linde's Ice machine and his pattent for it from 1879 (shown below).

6.1.23: SREF Independent Exploration

 I went to the Stadtmuseum. I wouldn’t say it was as in depth pertaining to science and technology, but one could draw connections between a variety the history of science and technology and some of its exhibits. It featured a suit of armor and weaponry typical of the Middle Ages and connects back to our theme of war/defense spurring new technologies for those uses. The museum also nodded to the presence and importance of BMW and the automotive industry here in Munich and Bavaria, connecting back to our whole day dedicated to BMW. A brief panel discussed the hardships faced amongst some residents of Munich through technological growth and industrialization such as pollution, smells, and noises from rail yards and factories. Technological growth and developments do not guarantee an increase in living standards or well-being. Additionally mentioned was the impact of the 1972 Olympics and in preparation the necessity of expanding public infrastructure. Large, often global cultural events like the Olympics draws the eye to a city and country to show off their culture, heritage, infrastructure, and technology. There were a few panels discussing Munich’s music scene where artists experimented with electronic music since 1956. Finally, an exhibit discussed the Nazi regime and the atrocities they committed particularly pertaining to eugenics and inhumane science experiments conducted on prisoners, which we also learned about at Dachau Concentration Camp. It was great drawing connections between our previous sites and what this museum offered.

I also visited the Oktoberfest and Beer Museum. Exhibits discussed the science and chemistry behind making beer, which is a key component to Munich’s culture. The museum nodded to beer’s ancient history dating back to the 5th millennium BCE and Ancient Babylon and Egypt; a useful timeline was also included in the museum. Both museums were insightful in looking into the progression, importance, and interactions of science and technology in Munich and Germany.

SREF project

Grace Semaan: For my SREF project I went to a couple of museums, the Toy making museum and the Beer and October fest museum. I’d like to highlight the Toy museum because it was very cool to look around and experience. The museum itself seemed like it was within a tower of another building, because it was very small and the staircase was a spiral staircase that made me feel like I was in a castle. Once we got to the top of it, we stepped into the first room which had mostly teddy bears and toys made out of various metals. There was also toys made out of paper and some carved out of wood and painted with various substances. 

Tin toys

Teddy bear sign

The next level opened up with a large display of original Barbie dolls. There was some very interesting books the Barbie’s had that came with the toys. Some included things about losing weight or how to not eat which now makes me understand how we normalized eating disorders within society. This floor also had a collection of porcelain dolls and new figurines made from a combination of saw dust and caolin so they would last longer. 

New engineered toys

Porcelain doll example

The last floor had a collection of robot toys, trains, and model boats. Overall it was really cool to see how toys were made and how they progressed since the early 1800’s. I’d definitely recommend going and visiting if given the chance, especially since the admission is so cheap!

Model Trains

Model Boats

SREF - Lucas

 For the SREF project, William and I traveled to a wing of the Deutches museum which was focused on trains, cars, and bikes. This museum was broken into 3 separate buildings and contained a lot of information throughout. Starting with the entryway, there was graphics and plaques on the future if transportation. This included things such as new tech, how we can make positive transportation decisions, and some future city plans. The following part of this building was composed of mostly old motorcycles, bicycles, and old cars of various brands and times. 

The second building was predominantly train technology of old and new. There were full size and once functioning steam trains that you could walk through. Besides the examples most of the information contained here was on old steam technology.

The 3rd and my favorite building was a mixed basket. The building was split in half with one showcasing racing vehicles and the other containing interactive activities. There were old race motorcycles and 2 F1 cars which I was particularly fond of.  The interactive examples were clear physical models on how multiple complex components work inside of cars. This included steering systems, transmissions, and differentials. 

SREF research day

William Shaker: The only thing I was able to visit on the designated SREF day was the Deutsches Museum Verkehrszentrum. The main focus of the museum was transportation. There were exhibits on the history of the bicycle, including exhibits of trends and technical developments related thereto:

(Evolution from older things like wooden rims and rod brakes to modern double wall aluminum rims with disc brakes is a major improvement, and it is neat to see ideas between)

There were too many car exhibits to talk about here, but they all showed a definite flow from the early self-propelled wagon sorts into more modern cars.

There was also a neat section on passenger rail, both more broadly and with specifics like how their third rail ended up being the way it is.

SREF Project Day

 For the SREF Project Day, I visited the Toy Museum and the Beer Museum, both in Munich. The toy museum was very cool to see, showing the history of craftsmanship with wooden and porcelain models that would later transform to plastic minifigures and small battery-powered machines. There was a whole case of sci-fi spacecraft and robots from the 1970s, which reminded me very much of the hand-me-down toys I received from my father as a young child. American influence was a lot more relevant to German toys than I would have expected, but it makes sense as a direct result of Disney’s early days in animation.

The beer museum was also quite fascinating. We learned that the art of brewing dates back as far as the times of Mesopotamia and ancient Egypt. The consumption of alcohol is an evidently universal social aspect across nearly all cultures, and it frankly hasn’t evolved as much as almost anything else we’ve seen on this trip. I was surprised to learn, however, just how important the invention of motor-driven cooling systems is to brewing itself. It seems relatively obvious that refrigeration is important for the enjoyment of an ice cold beer, but I really had no idea how much the heating and cooling of elements in the process of brewing could be!

SREF Project- Kaitlynn

 For my SREF project, I went to both the Munich toy museum and a beer-making museum. However, I will just be talking about the toy museum in this article. 

The museum was very charming upon arrival, as it is housed only in the tower pictured above. There were multiple floors with toys spanning from the 13th century up to the present day. I really enjoyed how each type of toy had a different description of why it was popular at that time, so you could really picture the technology present that would have made it possible to produce them. It was interesting to see when the industrial revolution would have taken place by looking at the toys because they quickly went from unique and hand-made to identical and mass-produced. Also, one can see a switch from a monotone color palate to a very bright and vibrant palate with the newer toys.

One of the first toy cases we looked at contained a variety of different carved wooden toys. These were by far the most interesting thing to me because you can tell how much detail was put into them and what skillset was needed to make them.

Then, we got to see a vast collection of different dolls. You can tell that by this point, these dolls were not being made in the home, but rather by a skilled craftsman or a small factory setup. However, you can see the primitive nature of the design and that most of the clothing was still hand-made.

Lastly, we saw toys that were closer to the present day, which included some Barbie dolls and electronic toys. At this point, one can see how uniform everything looks, especially with the Barbie dolls. Additionally, with the new technology that was invented, electronic toys were introduced to the market, allowing for a whole new perspective on what a toy could look like. Overall, it was very interesting seeing the development of toys and how different technological advancements could change the public interest in what toys were deemed "popular". 

SREF Project Free time

 So for the SREF project work I'd like to talk mainly about the beer and oktoberfest museum. The museum was delightful housed in what I believe to be an old brewery a short distance from the Marienplatz and Viktualen Markt. It is a tall building with the round about tour starting on the 4th floor, with history of brewing and its techniques. This includes wonderful artifacts like brewers stoneware, and an "Anciet beer tablet" as I have taken to referring to it pictured below.

        

The museum then transitions pretty smoothly into a cultural history of beer in Bavaria, and oktoberfest as a tradition and cultural phenomenon. This included displays of Bierdiekles, photos of people enjoying beers together, and other various paraphernalia of beer's cultural footprint. Altogether the museum is well worth the €4 admission, though I wish we had been more acutely aware that the beer tasting at the end wasn't complementary. For the Stadt Museum, the other site we visited, there was less for history of science and tech, though one could talk about or think of ways that science and tech had influenced things like the King's panorama or the marionettes and clock work and the armor and weapons. The clearest link to scientific history was in a special exhibit on National Socialism, which talked about their "Racial science" and demonstrated tools and ideas of that period.

SREF Project: Alex

Today for our SREF project, we went to two locations the Stadtmuseum and the Beer and Octoberfest museum.

At the stadtmuseum, there was a wide variety of topics that were featured, all relating to the city of Munich. The first one we entered seemed to be a museum for Munich's club scene, with many different exhibits showing posters for local bands, artifacts from famous clubs, and sets showing what old clubs were like in Munich. One artifact that I particularly enjoyed was an exhibit showing tickets for a show prior to the covid pandemic. There was a giant stack of papers, which really exemplified just how much life changed in 2020. 

In the museum, we were given English audio translations for some of the stations, as we were given a device which we could input codes to listen to prerecorded audio.  This was useful, as hardly any exhibits had written English captions. 

Another cool place in the museum was the Munich National Socialist section, which displayed numerous Nazi Germany artifacts such as books, flags, and uniforms. One exhibit that particularly struck me was various charts and guides for determining scientific 'races.' There was an eye color chart, a hair color chart, and a skin color chart

Next, we went to the Munich Oktoberfest and Beer museum, which was pretty neat. There was a comprehensive chart showing all of the steps required in order to make beer, and definitions for terms that I otherwise did not know beforehand. There was a big vat and examples of bags that people put grains into for the beer making process. Afterwards, we got to try the different beers as we learned the ingredients how to make them.

Overall, we had a good day!

SREF project~ Ashten

 Toy Museum- we started on the 5th floor. We saw a variety of dolls, trains, bears, Barbie’s, and robots. Seeing the hair of the dolls was extremely interesting as well as different varieties of Barbie’s. The Barbie section showed weights and scales for children to dress their Barbie. The variety of trains included brands I recognize today such as  shell.

Bier- und Oktoberfest Museum: we began by climbing a few flights of stairs and seeing a select variety of culture items we see often at home. My favorite part was the Oktoberfest room. The culture in terms of Oktoberfest is one you only see in Germany and seeing the different parades of people in lederhosen. I enjoyed seeing the crown and the different varieties of posters.