Dark Matter Brings Glowing Fir Trees Over Berlin’s Ice Rink

TVS News AI, editorially supervised, presents Dark Matter Brings Glowing Fir Trees Over Berlin’s Ice Rink.

Around seven weeks before Christmas, the Dark Matter museum in Berlin is opening its new winter landscape. The special feature is clear from the first glance: 600 fir trees float above an illuminated ice rink across 1,000 square meters. In the trees and around the scene, more than 300,000 points of light glow in total. The BBC Business report describes an exhibition in which light shapes not only the walls but also the floor.

1,000 square meters of winter landscape instead of individual light objects

The size of the installation

Dark Matter relies on a floating forest that fills the entire exhibition space. The 600 fir trees hover above visitors, while more than 300,000 points of light from the different parts of the lighting installation create the motif of the winter landscape. The Tagesspiegel specifically highlights this combination of glowing trees and the ice rink.

The museum has designed the exhibition as an illuminated winter landscape. It is therefore not about individual installations that are viewed separately from one another, but about a coherent scene: The floating forest forms the upper part, the ice rink forms the center, and the light connects both into a continuous winter image.

The ice rink is at the center

The ice rink lies precisely in the middle of the exhibition. It is part of the lighting installation and not merely a functional area for athletes. Thousands of lights embedded in the ice transform the floor into a giant canvas. This creates a winter motif that you do not merely look at from above but travel through on skates.

600 fir trees and 300,000 points of light create the nighttime backdrop

The strongest visual impression comes from the height and density of the installation. Above you, 600 fir trees float, their silhouettes made visible by the 300,000 points of light. Below you, the body of ice glows, with thousands of lights embedded in it.

This also explains why the ice rink was placed so centrally. It forms not only the movement element of the exhibition. With its illuminated floor, it simultaneously creates the second image of the winter landscape, while the fir trees above provide spatial depth.

For visitors, this means concretely: You do not get a pure light installation that is only meant to be viewed from the outside. You enter a scene in which the lighting is connected to the ice rink. As you glide, your perspective on the floating trees automatically changes.

€5 for skates – making the ice rink practically usable

On-site rental

Skating is firmly part of the concept. Visitors can rent skates on site for €5. Entry is therefore not the only price you need to budget for the full winter landscape experience: You can actually use the ice rink through the rental.

The museum does not market Dark Matter solely as an exhibition to look at. The floating fir forest, the illuminated ice surface and the €5 rental work together. You therefore do not need to bring your own equipment to experience the central installation on skates.

€17 on weekdays, €19 at the weekend

Ticket prices

Tickets for the “Winterlights” exhibition cost €17 from Tuesday to Friday. On weekends and public holidays, the regular price is €19. There are discounts for students and children.

This allows two visiting days to be differentiated. On weekdays, regular admission costs €2 less than at the weekend or on a public holiday. If your calendar leaves several days open, Tuesday to Friday is the cheaper regular price range.

Book online instead of waiting on site

Tickets are supposed to be booked online. According to the museum’s information, tickets are sold on site only in exceptional cases. For your visit, online booking is therefore the clearer option: Regular on-site ticket sales are not intended.

The exhibition runs until February 14

The period

“Winterlights” can be seen from November 4 to February 14. The exhibition therefore begins around seven weeks before Christmas and continues well beyond the Advent season. The 1,000-square-meter winter landscape is thus not limited to individual public holidays.

There was already a similar exhibition at the Dark Matter museum last year. The specific exhibition in question begins on November 4. The press release does not reveal which part of the building will accommodate the winter landscape. By contrast, the distinctive elements are firmly documented: 600 floating fir trees, more than 300,000 points of light, thousands of lights in the ice and an ice rink in the center.