The permanent exhibition of the Ruhr Museum presents the fascinating history of one of the world’s largest industrial regions. Its modern and popular design combines the natural and cultural history as an integrative concept; presenting the myths, phenomena and structures of the Ruhrgebiet, the enormity of the geological history, the long history of local industrialisation, and considers its consequences and the perspectives for the future.

Therefore, the museum follows the route of the coal through the former coal washing plant and presents an exhibition featuring Present – Memory – History on three floors. In contrast to many other museums, the exhibition starts in the present and describes the modern day reality of the Ruhrgebiet. The following floor is devoted to the pre-industrial memory of the Ruhr Area, before the last floor tells the dramatic history of industrialisation, which in turn leads to the present.