The former museum

From 2016 to 2023, the collection was open to the public at the BINARIUM in Dortmund, a museum of game consoles and home computers. Christian Ullenboom created and ran it, combining the roles of collector, museum director, exhibition designer and curator. He was responsible for the layout of the rooms, the display cases and gaming stations, the chronological sequence of the sections and every object text.

Across roughly 2,000 square metres of exhibition space, the tour led through three halls, from the earliest games in laboratories to the present. The photographs and video show what the exhibition looked like.

From a private project to a new owner

The BINARIUM grew out of Christian Ullenboom’s personal passion for game consoles and home computers and was warmly received by its visitors. Running the museum required a time commitment that went beyond the scope of a hobby. In 2023, Ullenboom closed the museum to regain more personal time.

Today, the collection is offered as a whole. It could be used in a museum or become part of a private collection.

Video tour

The video shows a walkthrough of the exhibition.

Three halls, one chronology

Exhibition area in the former BINARIUM with wall-mounted display cases and yellow and green table display cases — Early home consoles: from the Odyssey and Pong to the second console generation.Photo: own photograph

Exhibition area in the former BINARIUM with an orange wall, yellow table display cases and illuminated wall-mounted display cases — The following console generations: Nintendo, PC Engine, multimedia consoles and other themes.Photo: own photograph

Darkened exhibition area in the former BINARIUM with screens and gaming stations — Newer gaming worlds in the former BINARIUM: the eighth console generation, virtual reality, mobile gaming and simulators.Photo: own photograph

Exhibition design

Illuminated wall-mounted display cases placed the devices in the context of their time, complemented by low table display cases around the rooms. Visitors could play at gaming stations, while recreated settings such as a 1970s living room showed devices in the environments where they were once used.

Illuminated wall-mounted display cases with home computers and monitors — Wall-mounted display cases with home computersPhoto: own photograph

Wall-mounted display cases next to a colourful mural, with a station featuring a CRT monitor in front — Display cases and a station with a CRT monitorPhoto: own photograph

Long yellow table display case in front of illuminated wall-mounted display cases — Table display cases for smaller objectsPhoto: own photograph

Two visitors seen from behind in armchairs facing an old television with a Pong-style console, surrounded by 1970s-style wallpaper — A 1970s living room with a Pong-style consolePhoto: own photograph

Gaming stations with gaming chairs and large screens — Gaming stationsPhoto: own photograph

Gaming station with a large screen and illuminated frame — Gaming station in the former museumPhoto: own photograph

Visitor wearing a VR headset in front of a large screen, seen from behind — Trying out virtual realityPhoto: own photograph

Area with simulators and large screens — Simulators and virtual realityPhoto: own photograph

Exhibition area with a large screen and a beanbag — Gaming on the big screenPhoto: own photograph

The museum in operation

Visitors at yellow table display cases in front of an orange wall with pictures — Visitors in the exhibitionPhoto: own photograph

Two visitors seen from behind in armchairs facing a television showing Pong — Playing Pong as in the 1970sPhoto: own photograph

Television crew with a camera and microphone conducting an interview in front of the display cases — WDR filming in December 2016Photo: own photograph

Before the exhibition was built

Hundreds of devices, boxes and accessories spread across the floor of a hall — Before the exhibition was built, the objects were sorted and assigned to its sections. The photograph shows a small selection.Photo: own photograph

In the media

The BINARIUM was covered by television, radio, newspapers and specialist media, including:

Deutsches Museum der digitalen Kultur eröffnet in Dortmund (heise online, February 2016)
Neues Computer-Museum in Dortmund (WDR Lokalzeit aus Dortmund, December 2016)
超レトロゲームをドイツでプレイ、デジタル文化博物館レポート (Engadget Japan, December 2016)
Nostalgiemuseum für Gamer: das Dortmunder BINARIUM (WDR 5 Scala, January 2017)
Konsolenmuseum (SAT.1 NRW, February 2017)
Retrogaming im Binarium in Dortmund (WAZ, February 2017)
Neues Computermuseum in Dortmund: Binarium (RETURN-Magazin, March 2017)
Zeitreise in die Vergangenheit der Videospiele (Westfalenpost, July 2017)
Das Binarium ist der Freund, den sich Computerspieler immer gewünscht haben (Ruhr Nachrichten, July 2018)
Museum für Computerspiele: Und ewig juckt der Triggerfinger (WAZ, June 2019)
Das BINARIUM (ruhr-guide, February 2022)

Exhibition concept

The exhibition’s structure, with its areas, sections and texts, has been preserved as an exhibition concept.

On request, Christian Ullenboom can share his experience of creating and running the museum with the collection’s future owner. The offer explains what is included.

The collection today

The photographs document the former museum. The hardware from the former gaming stations remains part of the collection.

The existing digital exhibition texts, exhibition concept and photographs can be taken over. The collection is located in Dortmund and can be viewed by appointment. The buyer arranges collection and transport.