The new TECHNOarena at the technology museum in Mannheim opened its doors with a dazzling debut: the interactive science show “DataSparkle – When Data Shine”, by Prof. Dr. Till Nagel and Prof. Dr. Julian Reichwald from the Technical University of Applied Sciences Mannheim.
Impressions from the show: Till Nagel (left) and Julian Reichwald (center) engaging with the audience; each seat was prepared with cards and markers for the hands-on activity.
Designed for high school students (grades 10–13), the show turned abstract concepts like data, AI, and urban futures into tangible experiences. How can invisible data become visible? What can sensors reveal about our environment? And how might augmented reality shape the cities of tomorrow? Through live demos, playful participation, and an open mic for spontaneous questions, the audience became an active part of the performance.
In the activity “Durchblick!”, students designed their own AR visualizations using transparent sheets and markers, exploring how imagination and technology intersect. This hands-on spirit continued in a design-thinking workshop developed together with inno.space, where participants sketched prototypes of embedded visualizations that could enrich everyday life ten years from now.
The stage design of the TECHNOarena was created by Sophie Humbert, a former HDIL research assistant, whose work provided the visual and spatial framework for the show’s interactive atmosphere.
This presentation exemplifies HDIL’s mission to make data visualization accessible, participatory, and engaging for everyone – extending our research on co-creative methods and data visualization for the public beyond academic contexts and into real-world educational experiences.
→ Link to press release (in German)