Chemicals and Pharmacy

The exhibition—new and even more beautiful—is now on display right next to the Sugar Exhibition in the new building. Stop by and discover lots of fascinating stories about pills, pipettes, and the historic Schering company in Berlin!

Spanning 400 square meters, the exhibition is divided into two large sections: chemistry takes center stage in the blue section, while pharmacy is the focus of the green section. The close connection between these two disciplines quickly becomes clear: Medications help the body regulate chemical and hormonal processes. Their manufacture follows the same chemical principles as the production of “ordinary” chemicals. After all, all substances are made up of molecules. And the study of the composition and transformability of these molecules is chemistry.

In the exhibition, you’ll learn about the techniques and tools used in a laboratory: from glass pipettes to modern pipetting robots. At audio stations, molecules tell the exciting story of their discovery. And right at the start of the exhibition, you can get hands-on: a media station invites you to try your hand at being a pyrotechnician and to build and set off a firework of your own choosing. Pyrochemicals are one example of the chemical industry's wide range of products.

Since the 19th century, the chemical and pharmaceutical industry has shaped modern society like almost no other. Berlin was a central hub in this development, and the Schering company was a key driving force. The exhibition vividly illustrates laboratory work, industrial production, and questions regarding the use and safety of the products. On a special large-screen display, you can follow the transformation of the company’s campus in Wedding through a stereoscopic animation.

Schering also serves as a good example of the first-ever collaboration between a university and a company in the field of sex hormone research. The discovery of these hormones in the 1920s was the result of this successful collaboration. Schering’s subsequent development of the birth control pill traces the history of a pharmaceutical product and is another focal point of the exhibition. In a listening room, you can listen to original audio recordings on the topic of “birth control pills” from the past 50 years. The various methods of contraception, as well as their social impact on family planning and sexuality, are also presented.

It takes a long time and costs a lot to develop an active pharmaceutical ingredient. After that, the rule is: no effect without side effects. This raises legal questions about drug safety. Finally, at an interactive dialogue station in the exhibition, you can hear different opinions on the matter — and form your own.