On the opening weekend of the "On Water" exhibition from 9 to 12 October 2025, everything revolves around the "colors of water". Even though water is usually depicted as blue, it actually comes in very different shades - such as gray, black or red. Many of these colors have meanings or serve as technical designations.

Taking up the multicolored nature of the wet element, the colorful opening weekend will focus on three of these colors and their associations: on Friday on rivers (green water), on Saturday on water in the city (violet water) and on Sunday on dryness (brown water).

Purple water

If a city is reflected in the rain, in puddles or watercourses, the water can appear colorful. These shades of color tell of the diverse interweaving of history and architecture, culture and infrastructure with this vital element. Viewed from the perspective of water, Berlin presents itself as an experiment between staging and concealment, between thoughtless consumption and laborious compensation in dealing with the resource. Saturday is dedicated to water in the city: from historical and current challenges to Berlin's visible and invisible water architecture to bathing and swimming in urban spaces.

Program

9:00-12:00: Live broadcast: "Die Profis" from Radio Eins

To mark the opening of the new exhibition "On Water", Radio Eins will be broadcasting live from the Humboldt Labor. A quiz and interviews with curators, scientists and students involved in the exhibition will take place between 9:00 and 12:00.

Participation in the live broadcast is possible without registration, admission begins at 8:30 am. Access to the Humboldt Forum is exclusively via the revolving door in the inner courtyard (opposite Bistro Lebenswelten).

12:00-13:00: Guided tour "Walking on Water" with students of the HU

Audio walk around the Humboldt Forum with Sofia Bauriedl and Laura Haumberger

Water is not only the theme of the new exhibition "On Water", but also determines the urban environment of the Humboldt Forum located on Museum Island. In the winter semester 2024-25, students of the HU's "Studium Oecologicum" developed a tour that focuses on the water on and around Museum Island.

On the tour, participants join two of the students on a journey to water-related places around Museum Island: to former river bathing establishments, on bridges, to old fountains and modern fountains - and thus rediscover the city from and with water.

The tour is accessible and no ticket is required. It starts in front of the Humboldt Labor.

13:00-14:00: Owls in Moor ahnen

Sustainable food art performance with tasting

What do moors have to do with water and the future? Are we consuming this endangered landscape with our food? What hopeful prospects for the future does this biotope, which is associated with gloom, hold?

With her delicious moorland dessert creation, sustainable food artist Anja Fiedler brings moors, garnished with tidbits of facts, to everyone's lips in the truest sense of the word. Guests embark on an unforgettable journey back in time with the 9000-year-old healing moor on their tongue, but also into a possible future with moors. The result is an edible sensory dialog that not only stimulates the palate, but also makes you think and creates a new image of the moor.

14:00-17:00: WaterCrafting - Creative drop-in for families

Workshop with Vitor Garcia de Almeida and Veronika Deinbeck

Jellyfish, whales, penguins and boxfish: many exciting animals live on, in and under the water. The science exhibition "On Water" shows some of them. In a creative workshop with artist Vitor Garcia de Almeida and facilitator Veronika Deinbeck, children aged 9 and over - accompanied by their parents - can recreate a selection of water creatures (with the help of instructions) and contribute their own design ideas. Discarded materials from the Humboldt Forum will be used. This results in exciting and funny, but also sustainable animals that can be taken home at the end.

Participation is free, registration is not required.

15:00-16:30: Meet the Scientist - short presentations on urban research on water

15:00-15:30: Irina Engelhardt: How do we strengthen the city against water extremes? New ways of water management in Berlin-Brandenburg

Our hydro(geo)logical research shows that the gap between the natural renewal of groundwater and the demand for drinking and industrial water is widening. Climate change, the needs of the economy and the lignite phase-out are further exacerbating this problem. In addition to measures that can be implemented quickly, such as reducing water consumption, further efficient measures are therefore necessary for long-term drinking water security.

In her presentation, Irina Engelhardt presents artificial groundwater recharge as a possible solution: Already established in countries that have been suffering from water stress for many decades, it involves injecting excess water - such as heavy rainfall or treated wastewater - deep underground. From there, it can be made available to industry and agriculture at a later date (e.g. during dry periods) or elsewhere. Can Berlin-Brandenburg also benefit from this solution, which requires not only extensive engineering knowledge but also a rethink by the authorities and modern control instruments to increase acceptance among water users?

15:30-16:00: Timothy Moss: Berlin street fountains - history and present of a seemingly superfluous technology

Hand-operated street fountains are a common sight on the streets of Berlin. As there are over 2,000 of them, there is often one nearby. But why do they still exist, almost 170 years after the introduction of a centralized water supply in the city? The lecture traces their changing uses over the course of Berlin's turbulent history, from fire-fighting and watering draught horses in the late 19th century to supplying water during strikes, wars and political division in the first half of the 20th century, washing cars in the post-war period and watering street trees, which today suffer from climate-related water stress. The survival of street fountains is proving to be a blessing for Berliners: They serve urban resilience in the event of attacks on water or electricity infrastructures or disruptions caused by extreme weather events and thus experience - once again - a new valorization.

16:00-16:30: Ignacio Farías: The urban puddle as a critical zone

- free of charge

- from 14 years

- Language: German

- Humboldt Laboratory, 1st floor

- Belongs to: On Water