MEDIATION, LEARNING AND EVENTS

The aim of the outreach program is to give the public insight into, deepening and excitement about the museum's exhibitions on technology, science and medicine. The exhibitions are accompanied by an exciting information program with tours and a wide and varied selection of events and activities.

WEEKEND AND HOLIDAY PROGRAM

The museum carried out and developed many communication schemes through 2023 for weekend and holiday visitors. In collaboration with Oslo Science Centre the museum has continued its work from 2022 to operate and train employees in various schemes related to AI, coding and digital creativity. This work could be seen, among other things, during the winter holidays, where visitors could experience the Micro:bit orchestra, program algorithmic art, make AI stickers, watch science shows and solve various creative tasks in the inventor's workshop at the creation workshop, Teknoteket.

We aim to focus on educational and social dissemination programs aimed at families with children. During the summer holidays, a soap bubble course was held for the very little ones, a rocket workshop, a windmill workshop and several communication programs linked to themes in the exhibitions. The communication program "Hurrah for children!" themed, for example, health policy and IVF through a point-by-point tour and activity aimed at families and children from the age of five. Through theme-focused activities, we hope to be able to promote dialogue and strengthen reflection within families.

The purchase and testing of an electric goods bicycle was a new dissemination and communication initiative in 2023. The bicycle was profiled, and the transport box was filled with simple physics and chemistry experiments as well as a skeleton. The purpose was to be visible in the center of Oslo and Frognerparken. On rainy days, the bicycle was used inside the museum.

In 2023, we were able to use the terrace outside the Communications Hall. The area was upgraded, and the activities were nicely framed by tents, shelves and flower boxes with lush plants. Several of the tiles were painted in fresh profile colours.

I høstferien var det igjen duket for LEGOfestival med blant annet LEGOoppdrag og et Duplohjørne for de minste i Flyhallen, der årets tema var Hvordan ser The Norwegian Museum of Science and Technology ut om 100 år? Andre aktiviteter i høsten 2023 var programmering av sandskrivere, 3D-prinitng og dampveilvals-modeller.

With the upcoming energy exhibition in mind, several activities related to energy have been developed, including light-up cards where visitors can make a card that lights up with a simple circuit, and a guided tour about water wheels that deals with the history of water wheels and Solli sawmills.

The Venneforeningen's family Sundays were held on 4 June and 26 November. In addition to the museum's regular activities, the visitors were able to experience activities with radio amateurs, open Halvorsen's workshop, and not least a steam locomotive from the Norwegian Model and Steam Association that the little ones could drive around on the museum's terrace.

Visitors could get to know the exhibitions better by hunting for secret letters in the Museum Hunt puzzle and through the mobile app Bædi og Børdi, children could hear about several of the museum's objects in a fun and creative way.

A teacher and girl make a lino print out on the terrace.

Lino print outside on our newly opened terrace. Photo: Gorm Gaare

EXTERNAL ARENA

In addition to the number of visitors to the museum, 16,071 visitors have been registered at external venues.

The most important arenas in 2023:

In collaboration with Deichman and Norway Makers, the museum has organized a Maker Festival at Deichman Bjørvika with radio-controlled cars, sand printers and soap bubbles. The festival was a success with 17,000 visitors.
During the World's Coolest Day, the museum contributed with activities where children could control pre-programmed radio-controlled cars through a car track at Akershus Fortress. The event was carried out in collaboration with Sparebankstiftelsen DNB.
Many science shows have been carried out, including at the national kick-off for the Environmental Protection Agency's Batterijakt and at the 60th anniversary celebration for the Apotekermuseet. In collaboration with Forskningsdagene and OsloMet, around 400 students were able to experience science shows at the Holmlia centre. Ice cream was made with liquid nitrogen at the Natural History Museum in connection with Geology Day, and countless soap bubbles were blown at the Id festival at the Town Hall Square and various other children's festivals.
In the summer of 2023, we did a successful pilot with our newly purchased Promo-El cargo bike. It had its own branding, a skeleton in the goods box and a cyclist with little tricks up his sleeve. We cycled around places where there were many people, such as Frognerparken and in the center of Oslo.
The Talent Centre has taught at four upper secondary schools in Oslo, in addition to Kongsberg and Larvik.
In collaboration with Oslo municipality and the Center for Natural Sciences, a teacher's course has been given to around 800 teachers on students with high learning potential and creative school methodology.
LEGO building at the children's festival at 3KT at Aker Brygge.
The Norwegian Museum of Science and Technology owns two listed buildings in Bergen. One is the transmitting station of Bergen Radio at Rundemanen. In collaboration with Museum Vest, we have presented the radio station's history and activities, including amateur radio. We were open 13 Sundays this summer and received 840 visitors.

Many soap bubbles float in the air, and eager children reach for them

Countless bubbles were blown on the Coolest Day in the World. Photo: Joachim Solum

LEARNING OFFER FOR SCHOOL AND KINDERGARTEN

In 2023, the school visit was 41,554 at the museum and 5,281 at venues outside the museum. In total, school visits ended at 46,835, which was 575 fewer than in 2022. Kindergarten visits ended at 8,232, which was an increase of 995 from 2022. A total of 37,421 pupils, teachers and kindergarten children received a learning offer under the auspices of the museum, an increase of 2,217 from 2022.

The school offer spans several subject areas, such as history, medicine, social studies, natural sciences, programming and maths. The new offerings in 2023 were Treetop Cabin (grades 5-7), micro:bit robot orchestra (grades 5-10) and LydLab – Create music for video (grades 7-10). Astroamp was reintroduced for 5.-7. steps and launched as a new VGS offer. Of the new offers, Astroamfi was the most popular. The museum also organized Research Square for students from 6th grade and up, in collaboration with UiO. Almost 1,000 school pupils and teachers visited us on this day. In the last two weeks before Christmas, schools were offered a free Christmas Science Show and the Christmas Planetarium. This was particularly popular in the last week before the holiday.

As in previous years, science shows were the most popular offer. The show is staged twice daily in the last four weeks before the summer holidays. Programming was also very popular in 2023 and Oslo Science Centre has worked a lot to further develop the offer, as well as to increase capacity. The schools could choose from a total of 20 programming offers, from 1st grade to VGS. Other popular offers were a tour of technology history with Highlights (3rd step to VGS), industrial history with The Industrial Revolution (8th step to VGS), the various creative activities (3rd step to VGS) and the offers in medicine, body and health (1 .step to VGS).

The school visit in 2023 had a slight decrease from previous years. It was especially in the weeks before the summer holidays, when the museum had a drop in visitor numbers. It was the unannounced school classes that the museum missed in the 2023 high season. Previously, the museum has had a higher number of classes on Oslo visits, which typically visit several cultural institutions during the day. In 2024, the museum will work to map the causes and solutions to the declining number of visitors.

The subscription scheme for Nordre Aker continued in 2023, with 5,684 pupils and teachers making use of the offer, roughly the same as in 2022. The subscription scheme was extended to also apply to kindergartens after a trial period in 2022. The offer has been well received among the district's kindergartens. 2,096 kindergarten children with teachers visited us in 2023. The number of kindergarten children who participated in an educational program increased by over 300 children compared to the previous year.

In 2022, the museum produced two boxes with teaching plans for AKS 1.-2. steps, via the Mini exhibition project. The program called Mummies - Life and Afterlife is held by a teacher at the school. 5 schools and 350 pupils made use of the offer in 2023. The feedback from pupils and teachers is very positive.

Museum pedagogue teaches children sitting on the floor

Photo: Gorm Gaare

ARRANGEMENTER OG KONFERANSER

The event program will update the museum's exhibitions, research, collections and archive. During 2023, around 40 events were held, many programmed in collaboration with others.

Late Night Thursday

Throughout the year, we have kept the museum open until 19 on Thursdays, except during the summer holidays and Christmas Eve. Our creative workshops have had drop-ins, and visitors have been able to try out 3D printers, sand printers, AI image programs and programmable objects. In addition, we have had classic analogue board games and LEGO building tables as social activities these evenings.

On 19 October, the museum started a youth club. In the first instance, the youth club is for applicants to the Talent Center programme. It is every Thursday, and the young people sign up from time to time. The youth club is supported by Sparebankstiftelsen DNB.

LATE

The museum's evening format for everyone over 18 was re-established in 2023 with monthly events. SENT has had a fixed program consisting of quizzes, creative activities, analog games, LEGO, bar and VR games. Open meetings and talks, exhibition openings, an award ceremony and the LEGO festival were included in the SENT programs throughout the year. The terrace was used for a bar and quiz during the summer's event.

A Porche and quiz participants inside the museum The museum arranges quizzes during all SENT events. Photo: Lars Opstad

Exhibition openings in I/O

On 26 January we marked the opening of a new digital artwork in I/O, Site Visits by Boris Kourtoukov and Amelie Dinh. The work turned websites into 3D landscapes based on the websites' own code structures. The artists themselves presented their works during the opening. In the exhibition, a separate zone has been set up where artists and researchers can present works.

On September 28, Borders of Privacy: New Interactions - New Boundaries opened at I/O, an exhibition that examines how new digital technologies intervene in our lives. It stems from the research project Borders of Privacy; Sociality and Belonging in Digital Everyday Life, at the University of Oslo and the Norwegian Institute for Natural Research. It has been developed in collaboration with The Norwegian Museum of Science and Technology and the Academy of Performing Arts at Østfold University College. The opening was addressed by the coordinator of the exhibition, Cecilia Salinas, research leader for Borders of Privacy Marianne Lien, and professor at the Academy of Performing Arts Karen Kipphoff.

Conversations

Hvordan snakker vi om energi: 27. april inviterte vi til et åpent møte hvor vi ønsket å utforske hvordan vi snakker om energi i Norge i dag som del av utviklingen av den kommende energiutstillingen. Programmets gang gikk fra innledninger med et bredt spekter av perspektiver, økologi, elektrokjemi, samfunnsøkonomi, global rettferdighet og humaniora, til samtalebord der gjester, innledere og utstillingsprosjektets medarbeidere delte sine betraktninger med hverandre som avslutningsvis ble oppsummert i en panelsamtale.

Tingenes metode: 6. juni markerte vi lanseringen av boka Tingenes metode: museenes kunnskapstopografi, med museumsfaglige refleksjoner og mingling sammen med bokas redaktører, forfattere og kollegaer.

Site Visits: På siste visningsdag for kunstverket, 7. september, inviterte vi til en samtale om nettsteder med kunstner og programmerer Boris Kourtoukov.

After the pandemic: 30. november kunne besøkende bli med kurator Phil Loring inn i utstillingen Liv og død i en samtale om erfaringer og minner etter korona-pandemien.

Technology history lecture series

Technological history lectures provide current insights and historical views on the development of technology in work and everyday life, infrastructure, industry, research, medicine and health, natural sciences and engineering. The lecture series is organized by The Norwegian Museum of Science and Technology in collaboration with the Technology History Group at Tekna, NITO – Oslo branch and The Norwegian Museum of Science and Technology 's Friends Association.

This year's seven lectures have been:

Oslo vannforsyning ved Ingjerd Mørck, geolog i Oslo kommune, Vann- og avløpsetaten – 26. januar.
Nasjonale turistveger ved Sidsel Sandelien, pensjonert sivilingeniør fra NTH – 23. februar.
GPS 50 år ved Steinar Thomsen, avdelingsdirektør for posisjonsbestemmelse, navigasjon og tidsbestemmelse (PNT), satellittkommunikasjon og sikkerhet ved Norsk Romsenter – 30. mars.
Den bergenske kongeveg ved Geir Paulsrud, kulturhistorisker ved Norsk vegmuseum – 27. april .
Starten på internett ved internettpioneren Dag Belsnes – 25. mai.
Når kommer torsken tilbake til Oslofjorden? ved Sissel Jentoft, forsker ved CEES – 28. september.
ENERGI i klimakrisens tid ved Ketil G. Andersen, førstekonservator The Norwegian Museum of Science and Technology – 30. november.

Girls and technology

TENK Tech Camp was organized for the seventh time at the museum on 11 and 12 August. It is a free summer camp for girls aged 13-18, organized by TENK - the Tech Nettverket for women.

Girl Tech Fest was held at the museum for the third consecutive year on October 24. 200 girls from the 5th grade participated in workshops that gave them a taste of how they can help shape value-creating technology in the future. Minister of Culture Lubna Jaffery and journalist/ presenter Selma Ibrahim visited the event, which was organized by the National Center for Science Recruitment, ICT Norway, the ODA network, TENK - Tech Network for Women in collaboration with the museum.

Around one hundred and fifty girls lined up outside The Norwegian Museum of Science and Technology Photo: Georg Aamodt

Research square and festival

In collaboration with the Faculty of Medicine, the Department of Psychology, the Department of Pharmacy and the Faculty of Dentistry at the University of Oslo, we organized a Research Festival on 21 September for 950 school students and on 23 September for even more weekend visitors. At Forskningstorget, our visitors were able to meet heart and brain researchers, learn CPR, take photos with sunscreen under UV light, hear about bacteria that create energy and bad bacteria in the mouth, learn about why zebrafish are used in medical research, explore in their own sensory orientation on a bicycle with VR glasses and hear about how sustainability and health are connected.

Conferences

European Association for the History of Medicine and Health (EAHMH): Medisinsk museum arrangerte konferansemiddag, prisutdeling og en spesialomvisning i Liv og død 31. august.

Kunstig intelligens i skolen: 6. november ble konferansen Kunstig intelligens i skolen avholdt. Nesten 100 lærere samt pedagoger fra vitensentrene i Norge var til stede på foredrag og workshops. Temaer som ble berørt var: Hvordan kan barn og unge bruke teknologien kreativt og fornuftig og forstå hvilke utfordringer den skaper; Hvordan kan de utvikle sin digitale skaperkraft og dømmekraft ved bruk av kunstig intelligens; og hvilke pedagogiske verktøy kan du som lærer bruke for å introdusere elevene for teknologien på en trygg og praktisk måte og samtidig få dem til å forstå de etiske dilemmaene vi står overfor?

Tillit til tingene: Sammen med Museum Vest og Universitet i Sørøst Norge arrangerte The Norwegian Museum of Science and Technology konferansen Tillit til tingene, forskningskonferanse om formidling i museene, i Bergen 29. og 30. november.

Other events

2. mars holdt professor og forfatter Malin Eberhard-Gran innlegg om svangerskapsrelatert helse i foredraget Hvordan de første 9 månedene former resten av ditt liv.
11. april åpnet miniutstillingen Picturing the future we want. Det er et samarbeidende, krysskulturelt kunstprosjekt hvor ungdommer fra Nairobi og Oslo har lært å lage tresnitt og linotrykk.
3. september åpnet vi igjen dørene på sendestasjonen, Bergen radio på Rundemanen i anledning Kom deg ut dagen, med demonstrasjon av radioteknikk og morse i samarbeid med Museum Vest.
21. oktober var museet arena for arrangementet Snakk med øynene-prøv hjelpeteknologi hvor de besøkende kunne prøve å lage musikk, spille spill og kommunisere med øyestyring, brytere eller pust, i samarbeid med bl.a. Digjobb.

DIVERSITY AND INCLUSION

The museum's audience profile does not fully reflect Oslo's population, and our own surveys show that the visitor demographics on weekends and holidays tend towards well-resourced and highly educated adults accompanied by children. The museum and the science center will initiate and participate in projects and activities that make us relevant to new visitor groups.

In 2023, several measures were taken:

Sommeren 2023 ble det delt ut gratis familiebilletter i samarbeid med bydelene Sagene og Stovner for å forsøke å utjevne den demografiske fordelingen av våre besøkende. I 2023 ble registret 3 125 personer på disse billettene. Fra prosjektets start i 2018 til 2023 har museet nådd ut til over 9 200 mennesker i bydeler i Oslo øst. Museet har også fokusert på å gå i dialog med bydeler for å avdekke barrierer og jobbe med tiltak for å senke terskelen for et museumsbesøk. I 2023 fikk vi midler til å produsere en velkomstfilm for å trygge nye besøksgrupper. Vi har også arrangert flere fokusgruppemøter og har jevnlige spørreundersøkelser for å utforske hva som er hindringer og barrierer for grupper som vanligvis ikke besøker oss.
In the autumn of 2023, the museum's activities manager, Thanushiga Rajah, completed his master's at the University of Leicester with the thesis Participation and exclusion: A qualitative study of stakeholders' perspective of non-visitors at The Norwegian Museum of Science and Technology. The museum has uncovered several barriers that prevent participation in cultural activities at the museum:
- Financial barriers: Entrance ticket prices, travel and food costs can be an obstacle for people who do not use museums. Stress linked to persistently low income can lead to less surplus for planning leisure time for family and children has also been highlighted as a factor for cultural participation.
- Low knowledge about the museum's existence and content: Research also says that experiencing not having enough knowledge about the museum's theme and content can act as a barrier. Not knowing how the museum works can be an obstacle.
- Irrelevance: Museums may be irrelevant to some visitors due to other interests or a lack of recognition and recognition in the museum's exhibits.
- Location: The Norwegian Museum of Science and Technology is located in a relatively affluent area. According to key informants, this can be a barrier for people not visiting the museum.
- Language barrier: Language is a barrier that the museum can work with in a structured way to offer e.g. guided tours in several languages, text on exhibitions, videos or other technology-based solutions.
It is important to make contact with people where they are, for example in faith communities or other meeting places. In 2023, the museum has had activities in free arenas such as The Id Festival, Oslo Maker Festival, The World's Coolest Day and various children's festivals.
In collaboration with Grorud district, six young people aged 16-18 got a summer job at the museum. Several of the young people also worked at the children's festival World's Coolest Day on 2 September and in connection with the autumn holiday programme.
Talent center in science has taught at branches at Hellerud, Hersleb and Persbråten upper secondary schools, financed by Sparebankstiftelsen DNB.
Møte med minner er et tilrettelagt besøksopplegg for personer med demens. Vi har omvisninger med erindringsdialog for grupper fra dagsentre og sykehjem. Fotografier, lydopptak og berøring av gamle gjenstander får samtalen i gang. I 2023 ble det gitt omvisning til 32 grupper med tema Et arbeidsliv. Det var både hjemmeboende personer med demens på dagsenter og folk fra sykehjem og bo-institusjoner. Støtte fra Den kulturelle spaserstokken gjorde at vi kunne ta imot flere grupper og være to personer med gruppene.
Informasjon om tilgjengelighet på museet er samlet på museets nettside under Inkludering og tilgjengelighet FOR ALLE. Her kan man bl.a. få nyttig informasjon for besøkende med begrenset mobilitet, hørsel eller syn. Man kan bruke et sansekart for å til å finne områder som er mer stille, har færre mennesker og som har dempet eller naturlig lys.
21. oktober var museet arena for arrangementet Snakk med øynene — prøv hjelpeteknologi. De besøkende kunne prøve å lage musikk, spille spill og kommunisere med øyestyring, brytere eller pust. Arrangementet var i samarbeid med Elevkanalen-TV2 Skole, Digjobb, og SKUGsenteret ved Kulturskolen i Tromsø, samt flere firmaer som jobber med hjelpemidler for alternativ og supplerende kommunikasjon (ASK). Museet hadde rekordbesøk på om lag 30 ASK-brukere i rullestol. Vi fikk besøk fra OmniMusic fra England, som bruker teknologi for å gjøre ASK-brukere i stand til å skape og spille musikk på nyskapende, fantasifulle og kreative måter. Funkiskoret hadde konsert, hvor de kombinerte tradisjonelle og øyestyrte instrumenter.