By Simon Sinek
WHY
Time and its measure have questioned humanity since its beginnings. The aim of this project is to safeguard, promote and share with the public the history of the Neuchâtel Observatory, a unique Swiss scientific heritage, which has contributed to the precision of time measurement and its transmission for almost 150 years.
HOW
By creating an exhibition that explains how subjective and objective time coexist, how the industrial era accelerated the making of time, and how the observation of the movement of stars and then atoms made it possible to make ever more precise measurements!
The project is distinguished by the fact that it allows the visitor to experience a journey to an intact historical site, where the research was originally carried out, and thus to go to the “heart of time”. In addition, the visitor will be able to use two iconic objects, the Zeiss telescope (a unique model in the world in this version) and see the Quervain-Piccard seismograph in operation.
WHAT
The exhibition will be held in the Observatory’s Hirsch Pavilion, a historic building in Art Nouveau style, with a labyrinthine route of 10 spaces spread over 2 floors. The scenography will be composed of objects, texts and photo panels, sound and video archives, and diagrams/animations to explain the instruments.