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For the new permanent exhibition at the Haus der Geschichte in Bonn, we developed six interconnected and highly participative media installations – from the Prologue at the entrance, through four interactive stations within the exhibition route, to the Epilogue.

The result is a continuous media narrative that shifts the focus within the museum: away from the object alone and toward the visitors themselves. History is not merely observed, but compared, reflected, and expanded through one’s own biography.

Each station invites a personal decision, a memory, or a stance – making visible that visitors themselves are part of historical processes.

I. Prologue
Becoming Part of Iconic Moments

Right at the entrance, the exhibition theme becomes literally visible: visitors become part of iconic photographs of German history – from post-war imagery to contemporary movements such as Fridays for Future. Viewers become actors. Their silhouettes enter historical image spaces – first revealed, then deliberately integrated.

A high-resolution curved LED wall creates an immersive spatial experience, visible both from the balcony and from the foyer below. Using AI-based object detection (YOLO), people are segmented, assigned stable IDs and individual colors, and placed into three-dimensional image spaces.

For the historical motifs, we generated AI-based depth maps, developed a custom tool for correction and overlap control, and introduced subtle camera movements to create a nuanced 3D effect. A dedicated shader pipeline compensates for architectural obstructions such as the railing. A reactive soundscape responds to movement direction, enhancing immersion.

II. Where Do You Live?
Origin as Historical Context

The first station along the exhibition route asks: “Where do you live?” Through a simple interaction on a map, visitors locate themselves geographically. Depending on the region, they learn in which occupation zone they would have lived after 1945 – Soviet, British, French, or American. Personalized greetings create immediacy and connection. At the same time, a collective visualization of all visitors’ places of origin continues to grow.

The installation uses projection mapping and carefully staged light and shadow to simulate physical depth. Interaction was intentionally designed to be low-threshold – no postal code search, no text input, just direct tapping. A fingerprint symbol marks the visitor’s first personal entry into the exhibition. Data flows live into an evolving visualization.

III. What is your year of birth?
Biography Meets Contemporary History

At the second station, visitors place their hand on a timeline. Their year of birth becomes the entry point to a visual journey through defining historical events and everyday moments from childhood and adolescence – from political turning points to television shows and music. At the same time, the hands remain visible as traces, forming a collective age profile of all visitors.

Only hands physically placed on the surface are detected – a deliberate design decision. We developed and trained a dedicated recognition model based on an extensive image dataset. Infrared tracking ensures that only actual contact is registered. The system locks hands stably into position and assigns them precisely to a year.

IV. What Moves You?
Making Attitudes Visible

This station focuses on the present and civic engagement. Visitors select the issue that currently matters most to them – peace, environment, equality, or prosperity. By turning a mechanical crank, they symbolically generate energy. Alone or together: collaboration makes it easier. In the end, an overview reveals which topics have received the most collective energy.

The crank movement is translated in real time into a dynamic light and energy visualization. A reactive soundscape reinforces rhythm and playfulness. Energy serves as a visual metaphor and feeds into an aggregated overview that makes collective priorities visible.

V. What Is Your Name?
Identity Reflected in Data

At this station, visitors are asked for their first name. They write it with their finger – it is automatically recognized, and a personalized film begins: the name appears on large screens, is historically contextualized, and placed in relation to others. How popular was it? When did it peak? How many people here share it?

In the end, a personal name map is generated: the visitor’s own name at the center, surrounded by related names. The greater the distance, the weaker the linguistic relationship.

Handwriting is recognized using AI, supported by a local language model. Two datasets form the foundation: the most popular first names of the past 100 years and all names written on-site. The visualization is generated as a force-directed graph with clusters and semantic distances.

VI. Epilogue
History Is Part of You

Before leaving the exhibition, the perspective shifts once more. Visitors can photograph their silhouette and choose how it is filled – with exhibition objects, patterns, or iconic images of German history. The images rise upward and become part of a growing gallery. “You Are Part of History” transforms into “History Is Part of You.”

Three steles equipped with 3D cameras capture only the defined corridor in front of them. A countdown starts automatically when someone enters the interaction zone. Eight computers synchronize a total of 21 4K screens. The gallery grows live, forming a collective portrait of all visitors.