Preface
Photo: Håkon Bergseth Change is the new normal
Change and renewal characterize The Norwegian Museum of Science and Technology and 2019 has been an exciting and busy year. We have much to look forward to!
A new five-year strategy for the museum was adopted in 2019. This enables all employees, more than ever before, to move in the same direction to achieve our common goals. In addition to continuing our ordinary activities with dissemination, science center and temporary exhibitions, we are in a period where modernization and renewal of several of our large permanent exhibitions is absolutely necessary. It is in particular the planning of a new health and medical history exhibition and a complete renewal of the entire ICT exhibition that is on the way in 2020 and 2021, which takes a lot of our resources.
We have prioritized maintenance of the museum building in 2019 as it is important for us to work with the public experience. We have also focused on our own environmental work, and started by getting our cafe certified as an environmental lighthouse as well as acquiring our first electric van to reduce our greenhouse gas footprint.
People change and so do we. We constantly want to be at the forefront of research, new exhibitions, learning and dissemination to an increasingly wider and more specialized and knowledgeable public. Our visitor numbers have increased significantly from 2018, and again we have registered more than 250,000 visitors.
Our visitor surveys show that we have a very satisfied audience. 61% have visited us more than twice before and a phenomenal 94% would recommend friends and acquaintances and visit us at Kjelsås. But in times of change in leisure habits, many new offers in the city and a society that is becoming more and more digitized, we have to go even further to give both our loyal visitors and our potentially new museum fans an even better visitor experience.
Our vision is to be the most engaging, informative and fun museum, and that requires effort.
From 2019 I have to highlight our two exhibition ventures BLIND SPOT from the Medical Museum and the Moon landing 50 years. BLIND SPOT explores the eye and seeing and the Moon Landing fascinates generations, whether they are reliving it or experiencing it for the first time, and it combines technology, history and communication in a fantastic way. The museum was the obvious arena in Norway for the commemoration and many major media were present and celebrated with us!
The range of our exhibitions shows how we work broadly, and that we really want everyone to have a touching museum experience.
We have also organized the annual Chemistry Festival and the Lego Festival, to the delight of young and old.
Inclusion and integration are important to us. With Oslo Science Centre we are strengthening our learning-based cultural footprint in east and south Oslo, i.e. outside the museum building at Kjelsås. In collaboration with Deichmanske, we have organized creative festivals at the Main Library and at several of the library's branches in Groruddalen. We have celebrated that The Talent Centre for students with great learning potential will become permanent and that we have given more than 1,600 students and teachers in Oslo programming training under the auspices of Den teknologiske skolesekken. In total, we have conveyed, taught and given experiences to more than 13,000 people outside the museum building at Kjelsås.
See everything from 2019 here. Happy reading!
Greetings
Frode Meinich,
director at The Norwegian Museum of Science and Technology