In the past lies the key to the future - this is the most important message, which builds our national pride and identity, of the main exhibition of the National Museum of Technology entitled "Poles' contribution to the world's technical and scientific heritage".

After an introductory presentation, in chronological order - from prehistoric times, through the Middle Ages and the Enlightenment to the most recent times - of the long history of the development of technology, it details the most significant engineering and scientific achievements of Poles between the 17th and 20th centuries. It makes clear how important a role in the development of world technical thought was played not only by Mikulicz, Dzierżon, Białecki, but also by many other great Polish engineers, so that their names
and inventions that once made Polish science and technology famous have once again found their rightful place in the public consciousness. He draws attention to the fact that even the most difficult decades of the Partitions of Poland and the war did not stifle Poland's potential and that we owe our achievements also to the representatives of national minorities at home and to Poles living abroad, who, however, have always emphasised their Polish identity

The most distant inventions and discoveries in time are presented here from the perspective of "milestones" - breakthroughs that conditioned the achievement of successive levels of technical and technological development. This arrangement is intended to encourage a deeper understanding of the technical skills accumulated by mankind over the centuries and to compare the solutions of the past with those available today. So that the audience is able to realise the enormous scale of technical progress throughout history.

The main collection is complemented by an exhibition dedicated to the language of technology, without which a dialogue between generations of engineers and different technical fields would be impossible, and which consists of mathematics, the evolution of tool construction, the development of technical drawing or the versatility of metrology.

Covering almost 1,100 square metres, the exhibition is built in a rich, narrative setting that structures the issues presented, stimulates the imagination and transports visitors to a world of technology that speaks a clear, comprehensible language of knowledge and positive emotions.