The Miniatur Wunderland has been constantly growing since the year 2001. Having started with two layout areas, Harz and Southern Germany, the Wunderland has opened the seventh area, Switzerland, in November 2007. More layout areas were opened in 2014. The Miniatur Wunderland is without doubt a wonder, not only because of its landscape and surface area, but also due to the technology that underpins the exhibit.  Gerrit Braun and the model-making team have pushed the limits of model construction, with a large part of the exhibit custom-designed and built. It was not possible to use only ‘off-the-shelf’ parts and electronics, primarily because such components are not meant for continuous operation. Additionally, there is a lack of a large parts-base to support the scale of 1:87.  Thus, for example, most of the 150 push-button action sequences are custom-created, as are the Car and Ship Navigation systems.   There are also open-to-view workshops and construction areas in Miniatur Wunderland. This means that you can actually see modelers and technicians work on new parts, observe how landscapes emerge and better understand how much effort is put into these outstanding exhibits.