Within Reach

In 2019, we had the chance to host our TEDxTUM Salon at the Deutsches Museum for the second time. The event took place at the Deutsches Museum Verkehrszentrum on 16 July. All talks invited us to explore where we can go, how we can get there and what surprising new things we’ve already discovered.

 

About the Theme: Within reach

From the moment humans learned to walk, we’ve never stopped innovating. We invented the wheel, explored new lands with the first ships, and connected communities with the first cars. We looked up to conquer the skies with the first planes, and went even further to build our own rockets to discover outer space. As humans, we have always strived to push the boundaries of what’s possible. What we once thought was far away is now well within reach.

But what is within reach for some is still out of reach for others. It’s crucial that we redouble our efforts to make our technological advancements accessible to everyone. In addition, we must consider how previous advancements in technology can positively impact the way we live today, as well as what we leave behind for future generations. At TEDxTUMSalon 2019 we invite you to explore where we can go, how we can get there and what surprising new things we’ve already discovered. How can we move forward and get closer to what’s within reach?

Watch the talks

Visit our video library to watch the TEDxTUM talks performed on stage

Event Experience

Only 50% of the value of a TEDx event come from the talks. The other 50% come from the experiences and new friends you make. Our event took place on the day of a partial lunar eclipse and the 50th anniversary of the start of the lunar mission Apollo 11, and the exhibition in the Deutsches Verkehrszentrum covered various aspects of mobility. Therefore, also our experiences evolved around the concepts of space exploration and mobility. We aimed for our attendees to learn new and interesting things while also having fun and connecting with new people. Below is a selection of this.

Bamboo car

Have you ever realized how much space in our cities is taken by cars? We build a bamboo model of a car and our attendees had the chance to experience for themselfes how big a car actually is, how much space it takes in a big hall like our venue, and that it takes even more space to move around in a car. The final question remained: What model is this car taking so much space? Could only be a very big SUV, right? In fact, it was only a VW Golf.

Guess the solar system

The moon has a diameter of 3476 km while Earth has a diameter of 12,742 km. The distance between these two orbs is 384,400. However, it is hard for us humans to imagine what this actually means. Given a model of the Earth, we challenged our attendees to choose the correctly-sized moon and also to guess its distance to the Earth in this model.

Exhibition at Deutsches Museum

The Verkehrszentrum hosts a huge exhibition showing the past, present, and future of mobility – a perfect setting for an event focusing around ideas of what we have already reached and what we can reach in the future. Museum hosts volunteered to give our attendees a guided tour in between talks. Our guests had the chance to learn more about historical trains, bikes, and cars – including a look at the first car driving with a combustion engine.

Giant jenga

From tiny to large — these oversized Jenga blocks really have it in them! Attendees could challenge each other to a match, but beware: each block had a task or activity written on it. Whether they had to hug a stranger or pretend that the floor was lava, the players needed to complete the task before the block could be placed on the top of the Jenga tower. We witnessed everything from intense competitions to new friends being made… and had a blast

Speakers

Christiane Bausback

Christiane Bausback

Designer and Problem Solver

Sandra Decius

Sandra Decius

Activist for more green

Annika Paul

Annika Paul

Aviation Economist

Friederike Wolff

Friederike Wolff

Space Engineer

Partners

Thanks to our generous partners, we can provide a high-quality event. If you’d like to get involved, please contact us.