Ars Electronica Center

The Ars Electronica Center (AEC) is a center for electronic arts run by Ars Electronica situated in Linz, Austria, at the northern side of the Danube opposite the city hall of Linz. It has been built on the right side of the Nibelungenbrücke.

The building is also known as the "Museum of the Future". The most modern techniques from the technology sector are presented to the museum's visitors.

The top of the AEC is called the "Sky Media Loft", which is mainly used as a coffee house or bar of the museum. It can also be rented out for meetings or events. The bar has occasionally been used as the studio for the Newscast of the local TV branch of the Austrian national TV organization ORF. The speciality of the "Sky Media Loft" is the marvellous view over the Nibelungenbrücke and the main place of Linz at the other side of the Danube which functions as background of the Newscasts.

The second floor is also the floor where people can interact with exhibits. There are Musicbottles containing different types of music or Pingpongplus which is a table tennis game on a desk with virtual water on its surface.

The first floor has displays about the world that had been hidden from our eyes. In the "Hidden Worlds" various machines are translating voice and words into virtual symbols or colours and everyday life articles can be moved on a screen if they are touched.

The little room between the first and the ground floor one of the main attractions is offered. The flight simulator "Humphrey" uses virtual reality goggles to give users a simulated view of the flight and the person taking the trip is connected to the computer by cables fixed all over the body. It is possible to fly everywhere and to see the movements of the hands, feet and the landscape if the visitor raises the head or looks down.

The entrance or the so-called "Login Gateway" of the museum is on the ground floor and leads the newcomer directly to the Telegarden where a robot is looking after a flower patch. Every ticket is provided with a bar code that gives information about the time the visitor entered the museum. After the visit the ticket can be put into a computer near the Exit and it gives statistic information about the things that happened in the world during the span of the stay in the AEC. The List that is printed out gives information about how many people died or were born during that time or how many accidents have been caused by drunken drivers.

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Wikipedia