Like Grass. A literary audio guide to the Anthropocene

What would a Museum of the Anthropocene look like? 

How would it tell the story of the so-called Age of Man? And will everything eventually turn to grass? 

The literary audio guide from the Museum für Naturkunde Berlin, featuring texts by Daniel Falb, Monika Rinck and Judith Schalansky, narrated by Sandra Hüller, Dirk von Lowtzow and Christoph Müller, invites you to explore the exhibition in a whole new way.

Neozoa, algae, polymers: human activities are profoundly altering the planet. Their traces can be found in the Earth’s sedimentary layers, and they have given rise to a wealth of new creatures and objects. In the so-called “Age of Man”, the Anthropocene, societies in the Global North in particular are producing a gigantic mass of objects, breeding their own animal and plant species, and excessively exploiting natural raw materials. The concept of the Anthropocene signifies that the increasingly catastrophic consequences of human influence on the Earth system are entering social and political consciousness. When we view nature and natural objects through this changed lens, the diverse stories they tell—of the long-standing and ever-changing relationship between the environment, human resource use and technologies—become visible. Nowhere is this more evident than in a natural history museum.

Three renowned writers—Daniel Falb, Monika Rinck and Judith Schalansky—explore these stories and connections through the spaces and objects of the Museum für Naturkunde Berlin. From different perspectives, the literary texts by the three authors address the interactions between the human and the non-human: at times critically, at times playfully, at times narratively. In doing so, they rattle locked doors, stumble upon fire extinguishers, heating pipes and the otherwise often overlooked backdrop against which the exhibits are presented. They invite us to engage in thought experiments beyond the human realm and offer a glimpse into the “deep future” of human societies in the Anthropocene.

Narrated by Oscar-nominated Sandra Hüller, Christoph Müller (Schauspiel Leipzig) and Tocotronic singer Dirk von Lowtzow, and woven into a theatrical composition by the FARN collective, an immersive sound installation has been created. Accompanied by music and sound as a fourth voice, the audio guide invites visitors to stroll through the exhibition and experience the objects on display in a completely new way: to listen to the hum of the radiators, the chorus of the taxidermied animals, the stories behind the rocks. And in light of the profound changes to the Earth’s system caused by human activities, to ask ourselves together: What do we want to take with us into the future?

A production by the FARN Collective and the Museum für Naturkunde Berlin.

Listen to the full audio guide

At the museum or on YouTube 

Our tip: For the best possible listening experience in the museum, use the best headphones you can. We recommend bringing headphones with in-ear technology and noise-cancelling functionality.