Tobias Mayer was a German astronomer who lived in the 18th century and is known for his studies of the Moon. He developed a method to precisely determine the longitude at sea by observation of the moon. In doing so, he solved one of the greatest navigation problems of his time and received the famous Board of Longitude Award from the British Navy as one of the scientists.
The museum is located in Tobias Mayer’s birthplace in Marbach am Neckar. In 2016, the construction of a 3-storey extension building began. During the early construction works of the extension building we created the first drafts for the redesign of the exhibition and interior spaces and were awarded with the execution of the project in 2018.
The exhibition which spans over two floors, presents the personal and scientific life of Mayer in a simultaneous narrative structure. The wall design is determined by a flexible exhibition wall with a clean design. The flush installation of graphics, showcases and touchscreens brings the exhibition content to the fore. Several interactive exhibits invite visitors to actively encounter the historical sciences presented in the exhibition. Special media exhibits were produced that visualize the important astronomical achievements and make them accessible to non-scientists.
The project was awarded the „exemplary building“ prize from the Baden-Württemberg Chamber of Architects and the Lotto Museum Prize from the Baden-Württemberg Museum Association.