Humboldt-Box at Schlossplatz
The Humboldt-Box gives people the chance to experience what shape the Humboldt-Forum will take in future. The future users of the Humboldt Forum — the Humboldt University, the Central and Regional Library Berlin and the National Museums in Berlin — present their concept plans for the Humboldt-Forum in a joint exhibition that opened on 30 June 2011. The Box will be used to house rotating exhibitions and a series of events while the Humboldt Forum goes through the planning stages, both as regards its construction and the concepts for its ultimate use. The Humboldt-Forum is due for construction by 2019, directly beside the Humboldt-Box at Schlossplatz in Berlin.True to the spirit of the brothers Wilhelm and Alexander von Humboldt, the Humboldt-Box is a place of discovery and wonder. The history behind a Cameroonian royal throne held at the Museum of Ethnology challenges visitors to scratch beneath the surface of the colonial period. Chinese porcelain objects from the Museum of Asian Art tell of an early form of mass production and global trade, while the Humboldt University presents current research projects that show German and international scholars working in close cooperation with each other. In the Humboldt-Lounge, run by the Central and Regional Library Berlin, visitors have the chance to expand their knowledge by browsing in the publications on offer. Alternatively, the Humboldt-Lounge also gives visitors the chance to sit back and enjoy the beautiful view of the Lustgarten opposite.
Besides the exhibition spaces themselves, the Humboldt-Box also features a café with a roof top terrace and an events floor. The society of friends „Berliner Schloss e.V.” also has an exhibition in the Humboldt-Box that depicts the history of the site and campaigns for donations to finance the planned Baroque façades.
