Embark on a journey through time and explore the development from the first characters to historical typewriters and calculating machines to early computers, modern robots and artificial intelligence.
Immerse yourself in the digital world of the 21st century and take a look at the history of the internet. 49 Winkekatzen show you how programming works. The Smart World is all about the measured self, networked mobility and Work 4.0. Or experience the latest developments in the fields of artificial intelligence and robotics. How are smart systems shaping our everyday lives, what technologies are behind them and what are the opportunities, but also the risks? How do robots walk, see and think and to what extent do humans act as role models? Find out how rapid developments are shaping the relationship between man and machine and explore how machines learn independently.
Many exhibits invite you to try out interactive applications: calculate with an abacus, make phone calls with historical telephones, rediscover legendary video games such as Tetris, talk to the robots Pepper and Nadine or challenge an artificial intelligence in "Four Wins". Particularly impressive is Beppo - an industrial robot that sweeps fine patterns into the granulate floor with its broom and interacts with you. The museum robots PETER and PETRA will be happy to guide you to important exhibits or invite you to play hide-and-seek.
New in the permanent exhibition is a fully functional replica of the "ES 24", the first series product from Heinz Nixdorf's "Laboratory for Impulse Technology". With two interactive applications, the "new" electronic balancing machine allows you to simulate accounting transactions and checkout processes just like in the 1950s. On the 2nd floor you will also find a replica of Claude Shannon's "Theseus". The mouse in the labyrinth is considered the first self-learning machine. In the replica, Theseus maneuvers safely and reliably to the hidden cheese, just like in the original 70 years ago.
"Quantum computers - supercomputers of the next generation"
Quantum computers can solve problems that are difficult or impossible to solve with our digital computers. This represents a new technology that breaks with the past and opens up completely new possibilities.
The new exhibition area "Quantum computers - next-generation supercomputers" provides initial insights into the technology of these supercomputers. At the center of the exhibition is the world's largest quantum bit. Visitors can try out what makes quantum bits different from classical bits.
Museum café
Coffee and cake, sandwiches and snacks in between or a hot meal? The choice is yours at the "F7" museum café! Catering specialist Brand Manufaktur opens 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 guided tour of the museum takes place every Sunday at 3 pm. All you have to pay is the regular museum entrance fee.
General tour:
Discover 5,000 years of information and communication technology history and get to know inventors, historical machines and the latest technical developments.
Events
Whether theme week, family day or exhibition opening: special events take place regularly at the HNF.
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 events: www.hnf.de/veranstaltungen/vortraege
Museum education program
Children and young people aged 5 to 18 can learn about computer history at the HNF in the museum's education courses. 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
Offering for schools
Out of school - into the museum! School classes can discover the HNF on one of the numerous guided tours through the permanent exhibition, get active themselves in educational museum workshops or experiment 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
Packages for groups
Other information:
Immerse yourself in the digital world of the 21st century and take a look at the history of the internet. 49 Winkekatzen show you how programming works. The Smart World is all about the measured self, networked mobility and Work 4.0. Or experience the latest developments in the fields of artificial intelligence and robotics. How are smart systems shaping our everyday lives, what technologies are behind them and what are the opportunities, but also the risks? How do robots walk, see and think and to what extent do humans act as role models? Find out how rapid developments are shaping the relationship between man and machine and explore how machines learn independently.
Many exhibits invite you to try out interactive applications: calculate with an abacus, make phone calls with historical telephones, rediscover legendary video games such as Tetris, talk to the robots Pepper and Nadine or challenge an artificial intelligence in "Four Wins". Particularly impressive is Beppo - an industrial robot that sweeps fine patterns into the granulate floor with its broom and interacts with you. The museum robots PETER and PETRA will be happy to guide you to important exhibits or invite you to play hide-and-seek.
New in the permanent exhibition is a fully functional replica of the "ES 24", the first series product from Heinz Nixdorf's "Laboratory for Impulse Technology". With two interactive applications, the "new" electronic balancing machine allows you to simulate accounting transactions and checkout processes just like in the 1950s. On the 2nd floor you will also find a replica of Claude Shannon's "Theseus". The mouse in the labyrinth is considered the first self-learning machine. In the replica, Theseus maneuvers safely and reliably to the hidden cheese, just like in the original 70 years ago.
"Quantum computers - supercomputers of the next generation"
Quantum computers can solve problems that are difficult or impossible to solve with our digital computers. This represents a new technology that breaks with the past and opens up completely new possibilities.
The new exhibition area "Quantum computers - next-generation supercomputers" provides initial insights into the technology of these supercomputers. At the center of the exhibition is the world's largest quantum bit. Visitors can try out what makes quantum bits different from classical bits.
Museum café
Coffee and cake, sandwiches and snacks in between or a hot meal? The choice is yours at the "F7" museum café! Catering specialist Brand Manufaktur opens 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 guided tour of the museum takes place every Sunday at 3 pm. All you have to pay is the regular museum entrance fee.
General tour:
Discover 5,000 years of information and communication technology history and get to know inventors, historical machines and the latest technical 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 theme week, family day or exhibition opening: special events take place regularly at the HNF.
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 events: www.hnf.de/veranstaltungen/vortraege
Museum education program
Children and young people aged 5 to 18 can learn about computer history at the HNF in the museum's education courses. 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
Offering for schools
Out of school - into the museum! School classes can discover the HNF on one of the numerous guided tours through the permanent exhibition, get active themselves in educational museum workshops or experiment 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
Packages 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. From the cathedral and the Three Rabbit Window, you will walk through the old town to the world's largest computer museum. At the HNF, you will 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) | Max. 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 river, 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: 25 people Cost: 15 euros per person
More information: www.hnf.de/fuehrungen
Other information:
- Information on accessibility >>
- During your visit to the museum, you can charge your e-bike battery
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
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.
Nearby
