Funding completed: Media guides in the Tank Museum!

On Thursday, a small ceremony to mark the launch of the new multimedia guide concluded several years of major funding at the German Tank Museum. The foundation of the Kreissparkasse Soltau and the Niedersächsische Sparkassenstiftung have provided equal amounts of funding totalling 210,000 euros to further professionalize the work of the tank museum. The Mayor of Munster, Ulf-Marcus Grube, was joined by Dr. Matthias Bergmann and Dirk Hilmerring, members of the Management Board of Kreissparkasse Soltau.

Around half of the funds provided went towards purchases that either improved the exhibition or made museum work in the exhibition easier. For example, the old, energy-intensive lights in the exhibition were completely replaced with LED technology, which is not only significantly brighter, but also saves energy at the same time. New, stylish seating that can withstand the challenging climate of our halls has been distributed throughout the exhibition. A large number of museum stools, which can be borrowed free of charge and are much appreciated by many of our mobility-impaired visitors, were also paid for from this pot. A second set of our tried-and-tested radio system for guiding groups, including a UV oven for rapid disinfection of the equipment, was also part of the purchases, as were a number of tables that are used for group work as part of the museum’s educational activities. This package also included the translation of all texts in the museum into five languages, which can be used in future for educational purposes – including in the new multimedia guide.

The development and purchase of this guide took up the other half of the funding. The result is a comprehensive digital offering that visitors can use either on one of the 100 devices that can be borrowed free of charge or on their own smartphone.

All of the museum’s texts are available here in German, English, French, Spanish and Russian, so that foreign visitors can now also explore all of the content. The adjustable font size and the “text in your hand” also allow German-speaking people who were previously unable to read the panels well to do so better or at all. But even those who cannot or do not want to read can discover the content: In the interests of accessibility, audio tours are also available in German and English. There are also guided tours in easy language and sign language in German. Another major step forward is that the guide now includes three specific offers for children: An audio overview tour for ages 8 and up and two playful, exploratory offers for ages 8 and up.

Mayor Grube acknowledged that the guide and the other acquisitions had once again significantly improved the range of services on offer at the Tank Museum, which was in line with the progress made in recent years. Dr. Bergmann from the Kreissparkasse Soltau Foundation emphasized that the Tank Museum, with its critical approach to the subject, was working entirely in line with the values of the two savings bank foundations, so that the unusually high amount of funding had ended up in exactly the right place and for the right purpose. The Scientific Director of the Museum Raths emphasized the inclusive expansion that characterizes all acquisitions: The museum is opening up to new visitors who were previously unable to experience the content and contexts surrounding the tanks in the museum. Museum educator Seifert-Hartz emphasized the advantages of the media guide for school projects and the educational offerings at the Panzermuseum in general. It supports multimedia education and enables pupils to publish their own audio tours.