A museum dedicated to television and film opened in Berlin, Germany, on 31 May.

The Television Museum of the German Film Archive aims to raise public awareness of the historical and cultural value of audio–visual heritage.

The 1,200sq m (13,000sq ft) museum features a permanent exhibition comprising three different sections.

The Hall of Mirrors features a chronological review of 50 years of television programmes, while the Time Tunnel retells the history of media policies and television broadcasting in both East and West Germany.

The Program Gallery gives visitors the opportunity to view television productions in their entirety from a pool of 500 programmes, which includes sports events, contemporary historical documents and prize-winning television films. The gallery is linked to a data base containing all available background information on each production.

Across from the gallery is a Special Exhibition Room featuring outstanding personalities and individual topics from past and present television productions.

The first exhibition – called Goal! Football and Television – will run from 1 June to 30 July. The exhibit is an official part of the artistic and cultural programme of the German Federal government for the 2006 FIFA World Cup.

The museum is operated by the German Film Archive Foundation, which is funded by Germany’s Federal Commissioner for Culture and Media. The German Lottery Foundation Berlin and the European Fund for Regional Development (EFRE) also financially contributed to the project.

The Berlin Senate Department of Science, Research and Culture backed the project and the Berlin Senate Department of Urban Development constructed the museum. Details: www.filmmuseum-berlin.de