The Gutenberg Museum team is working intensively with Atelier Brückner to develop the scenographic concept for the Gutenberg Museum's interim exhibition at the Natural History Museum. Numerous workshops and site visits took place in 2021 for this purpose. Work is also continuing on a professional storage solution. This is because the collections must be stored in specific storage areas so that the temporary building can be dismantled and construction of the new building can begin.

While the Schellbau building, which dates back to the 1960s, is being demolished at its traditional location on Liebfrauenplatz and a new building is being constructed on the same site, the Gutenberg Museum and its most important exhibits are finding a home in the Natural History Museum, which is much more than a temporary solution. This was made clear by Marianne Grosse, Head of the Department of Culture and Construction, as well as the two museum directors, Dr. Ulf Sölter from the Gutenberg Museum and Dr. Bernd Herkner from the Natural History Museum, when they presented the newly developed interim concept to the press: "With Gutenberg into the future — highlights of a media innovation" is the promising title of the exhibition that the Gutenberg Museum will show from mid-2024 until the opening of the new building in the Natural History Museum on Reichklarastraße.
More information can be found in the attached press release.

The move to the temporary exhibition in the Natural History Museum in 2024 is approaching, and work is progressing in the Reichklarissen Convent, a 13th-century building. On August 17, 2023, Marinna Grosse, head of the city's cultural affairs department, invited all interested parties to a press event to view the premises at the Natural History Museum in Mainz and learn about the new exhibition architecture in the interim. Grosse emphasized that there will be a single admission ticket for both municipal museums. For the Gutenberg Museum, a media token disguised as a piece of handmade paper containing a chip will also be issued. This token can be used to read information at various media stations. At one station, guests can take a selfie in the backdrop of a printing workshop: after touring the exhibition, they can then print it out and take it home with them.

The exhibition tour "Highlights of Media Innovation" begins in the left-hand section of the Natural History Museum. Visitors are welcomed in the "pre-prologue" by the "Scholl Monument," one of the oldest statues of Johannes Gutenberg, before continuing into the adjacent nave.

The next room provides information about the city's most famous son, and visitors can view a model of the city of Mainz against the backdrop of an enlarged view of Mainz from the Topographia Germaniae by the copperplate engraver Merian. This model shows not only Gutenberg's various places of work in Mainz, but also other historical sites related to science and innovation in Mainz. 

In the adjoining room, the nave, stands the central media table, the main element of the room. This is complemented by display cases and illuminated pictures in the niches. Under the motto "Gutenberg vs. NOW," topics related to media history are examined from different perspectives. Headings such as "Shaping opinion" or "Unfolding splendor" show the media change during Gutenberg's time, which continues to this day. Objects from the Gutenberg Museum's collection are juxtaposed with matching counterparts to present the development of media forms of representation.

The treasury is located in the refectory, the vaulted hall with original pillars. The three Gutenberg Bibles are exhibited in a cube that glows from within and appears to float, under the highest security measures. Around the treasury, visitors can learn about these treasures of the collection through additional objects in display cases and projections. On the first floor, there will be two Gutenberg workshops where printing demonstrations will take place, as well as a cinema where the Gutenberg film will be shown.

The print shop, the museum's educational department, will be located on the second floor, together with another flexible exhibition space. The history of the museum will be documented in the stairwell between the floors by means of a timeline and various illustrations. Of course, all levels are accessible by elevator.