For design inspiration, cutting edge robotics and exploration of manufacturing processes, little can beat Berlin. On a design and technology school trip, see how new and emerging technology has shaped the city and how Berlin’s historic design innovations have shaped the world.
Berlin - Design & Technology School Trip
- 4 days
- +1 hrs (UTC)
- Germany
- 232kg pp
- Berlin Wall
- Reichstag
- German Museum of Technology
- Tempelhofer Feld
- KPM Royal Porcelain Factory
- BMW Motorrad Welt
For the latest travel advice, including passport and visa information, visit the Foreign, Commonwealth & Development Office website
*Carbon emission per person amount to be offset based on sample itinerary below and group size of 30+3 travelling from London region. Actual carbon figures represented in quotes.
Sample itinerary
This sample itinerary is offered as a guideline. The trip focus, length and itinerary/activities can be tailored to meet your learning objectives.
- Day
Day 1 - Berlin art and architecture walking tour
Fly to Berlin and transfer by coach to your accommodation.
Collect your expert tour guide and begin to orient yourself in the city with a walking tour of its famous street art and architecture: Be wowed by the urban murals and graffiti art; Stride beneath the Brandenburg gate, scale the Reichstag’s transparent dome and view the city’s skyline from its terrace; explore Museum Island with its 5 architectural masterpiece museums designed by Berlin’s Prussian rulers and pause at the Holocaust Memorial, a strikingly designed monument made of 2711 concrete stelae spread over 19,000 square metres.
Finish your first day with an evening meal at your accommodation.
Day 2 - Manufacturing in action
Today’s visit to KPM (The Royal Porcelain Manufactory Berlin) is a fantastic opportunity for students to immerse themselves in the manufacturing process, watching porcelain being made from initial concept and design to the presentation of the finished product. Students can witness production on an industrial scale.
Spend this afternoon at the German Museum of Technology. On a huge 28,500 square meter site, students can explore how design and technology has changed lives, across a diverse array of fields including aeronautics, navigation, transport, telecommunications, textiles, machinery, writing, printing and computers. Next door to the Museum of Technology is the Science Center Spectrum. Its hands-on interactive exhibition 'The World of Experiments' demonstrates the complexity and vitality of the design and manufacturing process.
Students can end the day with a trip bowling or to the IMAX cinema.
Day 3 - Autostadt or Bauhaus Architecture and BMW Motorrad Welt
Today, jump on the coach and make the all day trip to VW Autostadt in Wolfsburg. Next to the Volkswagen factor, this visitor attraction charts the development of Volkswagen vehicles. Designed by more than 400 architects, “Automobile City,” represents ultra modern design all the way through from its buildings to its soft furnishings. Students can tour the enormous factory, see the first petrol vehicle produced, explore car design software and even design their own cars using the features from Audis. Finally, be amazed by the two 60 meters tall glass silos that store new Volkswagens in a kind of car vending machine.
If you prefer to stay in Berlin, you can divide the day between the Bauhaus-Archiv Design Museum and a visit to BMW Motorrad Welt. Bauhaus (1919-1933) was the most influential school of architecture, art and design of the 20th century and students can explore the creators and their works in this state of the art museum. At BMW Mottorad Welt, students explore the breathtaking motorbikes created by BMW over the past 100 years. Offering interactive workshops, factory tours and motorcycle cinema, students can explore the concepts and technology behind this design classic.
Day 4 - Museum visit and departure
Your final day has many options. You could brave Design Panoptikum which describes itself as a “surreal museum of industrial objects.” Or, journey further into the bizarre with The Monster Cabinet, where “bizarre automaton creatures dance, sing and write poetry.”
Alternatively, you could look at design adaptations for the disabled by visiting Otto Weidt’s Workshop for the Blind and Deaf, a small broom and brush factory whose owner strove to protect his Jewish workers from persecution.
Or, if modern interactive technology appeals, finish with a visit to Computerspielemuseum, the computer games museum charting the development of gaming from Pong to the modern day, complete with rare originals and playable classics.
Fly home after a great experience.