This aspiration still stands today, though in a modernized mode, and is served by the collections of scientific instruments and equipment as well as technical artifacts that the exhibition displays in Munich and at its branches (Flugwerft Schleissheim, Verkehrszentrum, Deutsches Museum Bonn), the public reference and research library (approx. 970,000 volumes), the archives, the educational work carried out by the departments, in particular the Kerschensteiner Kolleg, as well as the many conferences, talks, publications and curators’ projects.
The Deutsches Museum takes on both a national and international leading position, particularly in its role as forerunner of Germany’s museums science and technology and as advisor to museums worldwide, in its research work in close collaboration with Munich universities and international museums, and in offering unique services and career training facilities.
The key areas of research combine the core functions of collecting exhibiting, researching, and educating. Research foci include object-based research, history of science and technology, museum studies, open science, and science and its publics.
The Deutsches Museum runs joint chairs and centers with Munich universities, including the Munich Center for the History of Science and Technology, the TUM School of Education, the Munich Center of Technology in Society, and the Rachel Carson Center for Environment and Society.