Creativity is indeed the uniting theme of the museum experience that Hans and his team have orchestrated. Each room inspires a different side of you as the city speaks through the decors, the interactive museum elements, and the thoughtful set-ups. Play the performance of your life at a central stage, where you simply cannot get stage-shy. Take your mind off the result and let the fun make an imprint on the glamorous photo taken of you.
Skip into the next room like a child and find yourself amidst a Trabi Limousine and a fun ball pit in the background. Then drive your imagination to a dressing room even Carrie Bradshaw would envy. Let yourself play dress-up as a grown-up whose childish soul never dims, and allow the spectacular photo parlor capture stunning photos of your reimagined personality against a backdrop of flashy psychedelic art in purple, pink, and green hues.
What awaits you on your journey are a range of colorful and intriguing rooms that invite you to explore your creativity, more upside-down set-ups, a glamorous hair salon with giant blow dryers, and a typical Berlin lake-beach to unwind and have a photo-worthy Tiki cocktail (only a prop).
Once you come out of the experience, you feel rejuvenated. All your creativity senses have been ignited, and you’re ready to go out into the world and co-create with the real-life settings that awaits you.
“What we wanted to achieve with this museum is to be more than just an experience where you can take photos. It's also a place where you can have fun together and escape from reality,” said Hans Plesman.
Indeed, the experience invites you to shed your inhibitions regarding, fully immerse yourself in the moment, and have fun, much like Berlin itself.
Plesman added: “It's pretty difficult to navigate through the current complex world we live in, and this is a place that’s uncomplicated and positive energy rules here. You can shamelessly expose yourself in the pictures, wear crazy clothes, jump into a ball pit, and it doesn't matter if you're 50 or 15. You jump into a ball pit or a pit full of foam blocks, and you get the Berlin Wall freedom feeling.”
Different themes thread through each room, each carefully selected with the overarching theme in mind - discovering freedom of expression and infusing the experience with Berlin’s atmosphere in a very subtle yet educational and perceptive way.
For instance, Plesman mentions a collaboration with the whimsical Wintergarten Varieté, referring to the roaring ‘20, when Berlin was thriving and was the epicenter of the era.
“It's Sodom and Gomorrah. Nowadays, it's coming back again with the Berghain and KitKat clubs. It’s this feeling of rebellion that we want to highlight through the roaring ‘20s theme reflected in the Wintergarten,” explained Plesman.
The Upside Down has a unique concept. By fusing a classic museum experience that educates with interactive and intrinsically fun elements, it provides a feast for the senses. Its immersive nature is what paves the way for futuristic, experience-forward museums, where social media is an integral part.
Plesman concluded: “It's very accessible and easy-to-understand, but there's an underlying layer of providing people with interesting, fun facts and crispy information that we like to share with the public. I hope that with this combination of information and entertainment - infotainment - we have created a playground for adults and the young at heart to really just have fun.
“I recommend everyone never stop playing, because you only grow old when you stop playing. It's not that you stop playing because you grow old. That's very important.”
This article is presented as part of a paid editorial cooperation with The Upside Down Museum.
