Hands-On History! Interdisciplinary cataloguing of the TU Braunschweig's material cultural heritage

In the „Hands-On History!“ course, students explore the history of science and technology at the Technische Universität Braunschweig. As part of project-orientated work, they open up three university collections: the „Metrological Collection“ of the Institute of Geodesy and Photogrammetry, the „Technical Museum“ and the „Educational Map Collection“ of the Institute of History. The aim is to secure these collections professionally, systematically inventory them and preserve them in the long term for research, teaching and the public.

The material heritage of TU Braunschweig has grown continuously since its foundation around 280 years ago. A central concern is the systematic cataloguing of individual artistic, scientific and technical objects as well as extensive collections. The spectrum of surviving objects is broad and ranges from technical artefacts, physical, mathematical and architectural models, mechanical experimental set-ups, engineering prototypes, materials and rock samples to electrical machines and historical computer technology. These holdings are supplemented by archive and library collections, educational charts and maps, photographs and paintings, sculptures and buildings. Based on these objects and collections, new scientific findings can be generated through interdisciplinary enquiry. University collections therefore represent a central resource for research, teaching and knowledge transfer.

This impact learning course offers fundamental insights into practical work with university collections, museological working methods and methods of collection-related research and object-based teaching. Participants are directly involved in the visualisation and basic indexing of objects and collections in order to ensure their sustainable integration into research and teaching and at the same time prepare them for exchange with a broader public.