Making it possible to experience the history of the universe – that is the motivation of the exhibition in the Deutsches Museum (see "Cosmology").

The exhibition takes visitors along on a trip through time that begins with the Big Bang, 13.7 billion years ago, and ends with a look into the future of the universe. Along the way, they find out about how space, time, matter, and the large structures in space have taken shape. An excursion into the present-day universe describes the life cycle of stars as well as the formation and development of galaxies – and the role black holes play in the process.

To bring the modern scientific understanding of our universe closer for museum visitors, the exhibition links insights from astronomy and astro-, nuclear, and particle physics. The current state of research is graphically illustrated with video and images. Participatory experiments show, among other things, what we can learn from the cosmic microwave background radiation, how important dark matter is, and why oxygen, iron, and gold exist on Earth.

The exhibition is a joint project of five Munich-based research institutions. On the occasion of the International Year of Astronomy 2009, ESO, the Excellence Cluster Universe, and the Max Planck Institutes for Physics, Astrophysics, and Extraterrestrial Physics joined forces to realize "Evolution of the Universe."