Transport Museum Lucerne- Switzerland
The Schweizerisches Verkehrsmuseum Luzern was an absolute delight for us.It is among the best of its kind anywhere and is also one of the most popular museums of Switzerland. We spent a whole day looking at the major exhibitions. Here is a small account of the best things to experience in the museum.
Railways– Examples of steam and electric locomotives and railroad cars from different parts of Switzerland over the last 150 years, were displayed on more than a kilometer of track. A model railroad showed trains working the Gotthard Pass. The most fun part was the interactive and informative way the history of this pass was on exhibit. We drove into the mock construction site on the service of railway and experience through theatre, the hazardous daily routine as the tunnel was built in 1875. Straight through the heart of Switzerland – the construction of the Gotthard railway was and remains an achievement of the century. This show illustrated everyday life and work in Göschenen, a village at the entrance to the tunnel. As we rode the service train to the tunnel’s workface, we met puppets of men and women who helped build this important project linking Europe’s north and south.
Road transportation. This exhibit had Automobiles, engines, horse-drawn coaches, bicycles, and the development of automotive transport in Switzerland. The best part was the car theatre which was an interactive show area with an elevated visitor gallery. We operated a red button to select the vehicle we wanted to see, and the robotized system conveyed the technological masterpiece onto a turntable for closer inspection. The cars could be viewed from every angle, and the details were highlighted in an entertaining and informative manner.
A two-storey hall with an exhibition area of roughly 2,000 m² comprised of a display store, the above mentioned interactive car theatre, a diverse range of individually designed theme islands covering topics such as safety, commercial traffic, car & work and a display workshop.
Air and space travel. Antique and modern airplanes helicopters, Mercury and Gemini space capsules, and an Apollo space suit that was worn on the moon were all exhibited. There were interactive activities like helicopter and aIrplanes simulators, hand gliding exhibits, a model of Wright brothers flying machine and models of airplanes and rockets of many Swiss airlines and space travel.
Shipping. This exhibit was full of fun as well as the kids could operate the small ships and boats in an outside open water area. There were lake steamers dating back to 1813, model boats, harbor dioramas and so much more.There was something called a ship parade where many models were exhibited.
The museum was so much fun that ,we could have and should have spent more time actually a couple more days to explore the entire Museum.Next time! I guess.Don’t miss it whenever you are in Lucerne with your kids.
SAAKSHI SINGLA 