A programmable exhibition
Illustrative image. Object from the museum's collections.
On April 7, 2022 The Norwegian Museum of Science and Technology opened the largest permanent exhibition in the museum's history. An entire floor has been converted into an innovative and interactive exhibition about information and communication technology, in collaboration with the design and architecture firm Snøhetta.
The exhibition is developed around the museum's unique collection of telegraphic and computer technical objects, which represent important features of Norwegian telecommunications and computer history. At the same time, the exhibition is in touch with the present and discusses the future. In the fields the exhibition aims to cover, things are changing so quickly that anything other than a dynamic exhibition – one that develops in step with the changes – would quickly become outdated. The exhibition is therefore programmable.
Each object in the museum's collection has many stories to tell: Who made it, where, when and why? Where was it used, by whom and for what? And not least, what changes has it led to, for the individual, for society, and what questions has it raised? The telephones that were developed to communicate over distance are today barely recognizable as telephones. And what these things have led to and can lead to is still a major research question.
By enabling the exhibition's objects to tell multiple stories, they can also relate to each other in countless and surprising ways. With the help of computers, machine learning and artificial intelligence, a network of connections has been created and thus also opportunities to read and understand history in multiple ways. At the same time, as the field changes, and new research and new discussions take place, these can be integrated into the exhibition. The goal of the exhibition work was to create an experience that the exhibition responds to the visitors' presence, use and desires and facilitates diverse experiences.
In collaboration with Snøhetta, the programmable ICT exhibition is being developed. This will be the first exhibition of its kind, and the ambitions are great. There are also challenges, both technical and political. To solve this, the museum is completely dependent on resource persons with special expertise. We have established a professional council, of people who know ICT in different ways: ICT and social change, ICT and culture, ICT and politics, and of course ICT and technology.
To begin developing ideas and techniques for such a programmable exhibition, we established a small experimental zone in the museum's LAB in the spring of 2020. It will be possible for museum visitors to look inside, and come in and participate when we open the doors. Here is a small selection of historical artifacts.
