Heinz Nixdorf MuseumsForum (HNF)
Permanent exhibition
Embark on a 5,000-year journey through time in the world's largest computer museum. At the Heinz Nixdorf MuseumsForum in Paderborn, you can explore the development from the first characters to historical typewriters and calculating machines to early computers, modern robots and artificial intelligence - and rediscover your own first calculator or computer.
Numerous exhibits invite you to try out interactive applications: calculate with an abacus, make phone calls with historical telephones, test popular video games such as Lara Croft, talk to the robots Pepper and Nadine or challenge an artificial intelligence to a game of "win four". A special highlight of the permanent exhibition is Beppo - an industrial robot that sweeps fine patterns into the granulate floor with its broom and interacts with the public. The museum robots PETER and PETRA accompany visitors through the exhibition. New to the robot apartment: Ameca, a humanoid robot with realistic facial expressions, gestures and natural speech. Thanks to modern AI, she communicates fluently in many languages and impresses with her particularly human-like reactions.
Special exhibition "On the trail of the clock" (until 30.05.2026)
The interactive hands-on exhibition is aimed at children aged three to twelve and invites them to playfully discover, experience and understand the world of time.
In the small town of "Anytime", children aged three to seven explore different rhythms of time in everyday life. They meet people with very different ways of living and working and learn why time sometimes passes quickly and sometimes feels slow. Playful stations encourage a first feeling for duration, rhythm and change.
Children from the age of eight go on an exciting time expedition with a personal watch bracelet. At numerous stations - from outer space and the jungle to the laboratory, city and watch workshop - they meet experts in physics, mathematics, history and biology. They discover that time has many dimensions and can be perceived differently depending on the perspective. The exhibition is designed to be interactive and allows for individual exploration. An accompanying educational program complements the exhibition.
Museum café
Coffee and cake, sandwiches and snacks between meals or a hot meal? In the museum café "F7" you have the choice! Catering specialist Brand Manufaktur is open for you in the foyer with fresh food and a wide range of drinks.
Guided tours
Explore the museum as part of a general guided tour through the permanent exhibition or delve deeper into areas such as communication, computer history, information technology or cryptology as part of a special themed tour. A free public family tour takes place every Saturday at 3 pm. A free guided tour of the museum takes place every Sunday at 3 pm. Only the regular museum admission fee is charged for these tours.
General guided tour:
Discover 5,000 years of information and communication technology history and learn about inventors, historical machines and the latest technological developments.
Events
Whether it's a theme week, family day or exhibition opening, the HNF regularly hosts special events. The museum also has seminar and event rooms for up to 410 people.
Current dates: www.hnf.de/veranstaltungen/events
Lectures
Various lecture series on the history, present and future of information technology make the HNF a lively cultural discussion venue.
Current dates: www.hnf.de/veranstaltungen/vortraege
Museum education program
In the museum's educational courses, children and young people aged 5 to 18 can learn about the history of computers at the HNF. Whether tinkerers, explorers, artists or programmers - there is something for everyone, for example in the areas of robotics, writing techniques, puzzles or handicrafts.
Current dates: www.hnf.de/veranstaltungen/museumspaedagogik
Offers for schools
Out of school - into the museum! School classes can discover the HNF on one of the many guided tours through the permanent exhibition, get active themselves in educational museum workshops or conduct experiments and research in the coolMINT.paderborn school laboratory.
The school program "In the footsteps of Heinz Nixdorf" offers a mixture of a museum visit to the Heinz Nixdorf MuseumsForum and a sports program in the Ahorn Sports Park. The focus is on the life and work of Heinz Nixdorf. After a 60-minute guided tour through the permanent exhibition, the pupils complete a 90-minute sports module, for example active team building. The Heinz Nixdorf Foundation provides a cost subsidy of two thirds of the travel and program costs per class, up to a maximum of 500 euros. More information: www.hnf.de/schulen
Package deals for groups
Further information:
Embark on a 5,000-year journey through time in the world's largest computer museum. At the Heinz Nixdorf MuseumsForum in Paderborn, you can explore the development from the first characters to historical typewriters and calculating machines to early computers, modern robots and artificial intelligence - and rediscover your own first calculator or computer.
Numerous exhibits invite you to try out interactive applications: calculate with an abacus, make phone calls with historical telephones, test popular video games such as Lara Croft, talk to the robots Pepper and Nadine or challenge an artificial intelligence to a game of "win four". A special highlight of the permanent exhibition is Beppo - an industrial robot that sweeps fine patterns into the granulate floor with its broom and interacts with the public. The museum robots PETER and PETRA accompany visitors through the exhibition. New to the robot apartment: Ameca, a humanoid robot with realistic facial expressions, gestures and natural speech. Thanks to modern AI, she communicates fluently in many languages and impresses with her particularly human-like reactions.
Special exhibition "On the trail of the clock" (until 30.05.2026)
The interactive hands-on exhibition is aimed at children aged three to twelve and invites them to playfully discover, experience and understand the world of time.
In the small town of "Anytime", children aged three to seven explore different rhythms of time in everyday life. They meet people with very different ways of living and working and learn why time sometimes passes quickly and sometimes feels slow. Playful stations encourage a first feeling for duration, rhythm and change.
Children from the age of eight go on an exciting time expedition with a personal watch bracelet. At numerous stations - from outer space and the jungle to the laboratory, city and watch workshop - they meet experts in physics, mathematics, history and biology. They discover that time has many dimensions and can be perceived differently depending on the perspective. The exhibition is designed to be interactive and allows for individual exploration. An accompanying educational program complements the exhibition.
Museum café
Coffee and cake, sandwiches and snacks between meals or a hot meal? In the museum café "F7" you have the choice! Catering specialist Brand Manufaktur is open for you in the foyer with fresh food and a wide range of drinks.
Guided tours
Explore the museum as part of a general guided tour through the permanent exhibition or delve deeper into areas such as communication, computer history, information technology or cryptology as part of a special themed tour. A free public family tour takes place every Saturday at 3 pm. A free guided tour of the museum takes place every Sunday at 3 pm. Only the regular museum admission fee is charged for these tours.
General guided tour:
Discover 5,000 years of information and communication technology history and learn about inventors, historical machines and the latest technological developments.
- Duration: approx. 60 minutes
- Languages: German, English, French, Italian, Spanish, Russian, Polish
- Cost: 45 euros plus admission
- Group size: max. 25 people; advance booking required
- More information: www.hnf.de/fuehrungen
Events
Whether it's a theme week, family day or exhibition opening, the HNF regularly hosts special events. The museum also has seminar and event rooms for up to 410 people.
Current dates: www.hnf.de/veranstaltungen/events
Lectures
Various lecture series on the history, present and future of information technology make the HNF a lively cultural discussion venue.
Current dates: www.hnf.de/veranstaltungen/vortraege
Museum education program
In the museum's educational courses, children and young people aged 5 to 18 can learn about the history of computers at the HNF. Whether tinkerers, explorers, artists or programmers - there is something for everyone, for example in the areas of robotics, writing techniques, puzzles or handicrafts.
Current dates: www.hnf.de/veranstaltungen/museumspaedagogik
Offers for schools
Out of school - into the museum! School classes can discover the HNF on one of the many guided tours through the permanent exhibition, get active themselves in educational museum workshops or conduct experiments and research in the coolMINT.paderborn school laboratory.
The school program "In the footsteps of Heinz Nixdorf" offers a mixture of a museum visit to the Heinz Nixdorf MuseumsForum and a sports program in the Ahorn Sports Park. The focus is on the life and work of Heinz Nixdorf. After a 60-minute guided tour through the permanent exhibition, the pupils complete a 90-minute sports module, for example active team building. The Heinz Nixdorf Foundation provides a cost subsidy of two thirds of the travel and program costs per class, up to a maximum of 500 euros. More information: www.hnf.de/schulen
Package deals for groups
- "High-tech and the Middle Ages"
On this guided tour, you will experience the historic city of Paderborn, where Charlemagne once had the "Imperial Palace" built. Starting at the cathedral and the Three Rabbit Window, the tour takes you through the old town to the world's largest computer museum. At the HNF, you embark on a journey through the history of information technology - from old typewriters and calculating machines to early computers, modern robotics and artificial intelligence.
Duration: Guided tour of the city (approx. 1 hour) + guided tour of the HNF (approx. 1.5 hours). Number of participants: 25 people | Cost: 27 euros per person - "Nature and technology"
Discover Paderborn's nature and the HNF: you start your walk at the banks of the Pader, hike through the floodplain landscape and reach your destination at the HNF. Here you will embark on a journey of discovery through the history of information technology.
Duration: Nature walk (approx. 1.5 hours) + guided tour (approx. 1 hour) Max. number of participants Number of participants: 25 people Cost: 15 euros per person
More information: www.hnf.de/fuehrungen
Further information:
- Information on accessibility >>
- During the museum visit, you can charge your e-bike battery at a total of four charging stations
Good to know
Openings
Special regulations on public holidays
Price info
Adults: 10 Euro
Reduced*: 7 Euro
Family ticket: 20 Euro
Guided tours: 50 Euro
Groups: Discounted prices are offered for groups of 10 or more (adults 7 euros, concessions 5 euros).
Return ticket: All admission tickets (except group tickets) entitle the holder to visit the permanent exhibition again within 12 months.
* Children and young people (aged 6 to 18), schoolchildren, students, trainees, people doing voluntary service (voluntary social year, voluntary ecological year and federal voluntary service), senior citizens aged 60 and over, people with disabilities and people receiving transfer payments.
Children under the age of 14 can only visit the HNF if accompanied by an adult.
General and vocational school classes, students from universities and universities of applied sciences as well as kindergarten and daycare children in groups have free admission after prior registration.
More information: www.hnf.de/besuch
Reduced*: 7 Euro
Family ticket: 20 Euro
Guided tours: 50 Euro
Groups: Discounted prices are offered for groups of 10 or more (adults 7 euros, concessions 5 euros).
Return ticket: All admission tickets (except group tickets) entitle the holder to visit the permanent exhibition again within 12 months.
* Children and young people (aged 6 to 18), schoolchildren, students, trainees, people doing voluntary service (voluntary social year, voluntary ecological year and federal voluntary service), senior citizens aged 60 and over, people with disabilities and people receiving transfer payments.
Children under the age of 14 can only visit the HNF if accompanied by an adult.
General and vocational school classes, students from universities and universities of applied sciences as well as kindergarten and daycare children in groups have free admission after prior registration.
More information: www.hnf.de/besuch
General information
Parking Available
Bus stop available
Eligibility
Bad Weather Offer
Suitable for any weather
for Groups
for Class
for families
for individual guests
Suitable for the Elderly
Other Furnishing/Equipment
cool place
Accessibility
General Information on Accessibility
Directions & Parking facilities
The HNF can be reached by public transport with the Padersprinter bus lines 9 and 14, bus stop "MuseumsForum" directly in front of the building. Line 9 stops at the main station, at certain times a change at Westerntor is necessary.
Sufficient free parking spaces are available in front of the HNF. Two parking spaces are reserved for electric cars. An EU-standard type 2 plug is required for charging. The car can be charged with a Girocard or via the traction current provider. The column has two charging points so that two cars can be charged at the same time.
Four charging stations are installed near the checkroom, where e-bikers can lock up their battery, which is charged during the museum visit. All you need to bring is a charger, the electricity is free.
Sufficient free parking spaces are available in front of the HNF. Two parking spaces are reserved for electric cars. An EU-standard type 2 plug is required for charging. The car can be charged with a Girocard or via the traction current provider. The column has two charging points so that two cars can be charged at the same time.
Four charging stations are installed near the checkroom, where e-bikers can lock up their battery, which is charged during the museum visit. All you need to bring is a charger, the electricity is free.
License (master data)
Nearby
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