Research and development

RESEARCH PROJECTS
The museum's research is mainly in the main fields of technology, industrial history, natural science and medicine, in addition to museology, conservation, pedagogy and photo history. It is researched in several ways; based on the collections, aimed at the development of new exhibitions, or in collaboration with other social actors and institutions. The staff participate in research projects and have represented the museum at national and international research conferences.
The research project "Museums' Knowledge Topography" (2018 – 2020) is led by The Norwegian Museum of Science and Technology and carried out in collaboration with the Østfold Museums. The project also involves three Swedish museums: Malmö Museums, Gothenburg City Museum and the Technical Museum. The project builds on the Things Method (2015-2018), the museum's method development in LAB and research on audience involvement. The goal is to contribute to museum development by establishing a research-based language and practices for knowledge-generating processes in museums in connection with the establishment or renewal of basic exhibitions. The results of the project will be able to contribute to strengthening the museums' social role and position as research and knowledge institutions, on the museums' own terms. The project is supported by the Arts Council of Norway's museum development programme Research in Museums.
Between 1941 and 1945, approximately 140,000 people from all over the German-occupied area were forcibly sent to Norway to work. Relative to its population, Norway was probably the European country that received the largest contingent of forcibly recruited labor. Based on the exhibition Grossraum, which was shown at The Norwegian Museum of Science and Technology from 2017-2019, the research project focuses on the Nazi construction organization Organisation Todt (OT), which was behind many of the largest construction projects in the Third Reich. The project will particularly address the construction of Hitler's so-called Polar Railway between Mo i Rana and Kirkenes, where approximately 26,000 Soviet prisoners of war were put to work.
The research project "Norwegian fabrics - design and industrial history" deals with the large and nationwide textile industry, which spans more than a hundred years from the start around 1850 to the closures at the end of the 20th century. What was produced in the factories? Who were the designers, and how were the drugs marketed and distributed? The book project is based on collections in museums and archives that have been little discussed. The project also leads to publications such as the article on Norwegian ski pants, an innovation for 1930s sportswomen and the seminar paper "French Connections within Oslo Fashion Production in the 1930s" at the conference "Labor in the Creative Industries" at Oslo Met in June 2019. The project continues in 2020.
Preservation and conservation of plastic objects is a relatively young and underdeveloped field that still has many fundamental challenges, especially related to active conservation. The main goal of the project “Reduced aging and active conservation of plastic objects in museums and collections” (Rapmus) is to develop new conservation methods and strategies for plastic objects through collaboration between the plastics industry, object conservators and collection managers. In the process The Norwegian Museum of Science and Technology will gain increased knowledge about its own collection and how it can best be managed for the future. The Norwegian Museum of Science and Technology is one of several museums participating in the project, which is led by the Vestfold Museums and supported by the Oslofjord Foundation. The project will end in 2021.

The museum's Lohner-Porsche (NTM 01310) is one of the first electric cars to come to Norway. It was constructed by Ferdinand Porsche at Jacob Lohner & Co's carriage factory in Vienna around 1905. In 2019, the museum has carried out a preliminary project on the car, with financial support from Autozentrum Sport AS, Porsche Norway. The preliminary project has included technical investigations and condition assessments, while attempts have been made to find out more about the car's history. The aim has been to lay the foundations for a larger main project with a plan for further conservation and restoration. The preliminary project has been an important step on the way to being able to preserve the car for posterity and convey its fascinating history through exhibitions and publications.
DOCTORAL STUDIES
PhD project at the School of Philosophy, Religion and History of Science, University of Leeds – Naturalizing the nation: Physical anthropology in Greece, 1880s–1950s
The project examines how anthropological research has built on and contributed to notions of Greek identity. The interconnection of national and international networks of people, institutions, ideas, scientific instruments, methods and theories is explored. Until 2019, preliminary results from the project have been disseminated in peer-reviewed publications, at scientific conferences and through public lectures. The research was related to the museum's exhibition PEOPLE and the research project "From racial typology to DNA sequencing" (2013–2018).
The research project is affiliated with the School of Philosophy, Religion and History of Science at the University of Leeds. It started full-time in 2012–2014 at the University of Leeds, and has continued part-time at The Norwegian Museum of Science and Technology since 2018.
PhD project at NTNU - The Hofgaard machine - an early Norwegian computer?
The project is based on an object in the museum's collection that can shed new light on early computer history. Rolf Hofgaard took out a number of patents in the field of electronic calculators and office machines from 1924 until well into the 1950s. Hofgaard's prototype machine from 1955 attracted some interest in its time, but never became the industrial product that Hofgaard and his investor had envisioned. An exploration of Hofgaard and his project will open up new insights into innovation, technology development between the mechanical and the electronic, early Norwegian computer history and machine development in many countries before and after the Second World War.
The research project is affiliated to the Department of Historical Studies at NTNU in Trondheim. It started in autumn 2019 and is part of the museum's ICT exhibition project.
PhD project at NTNU - The establishment of Norwegian beer export and what made it possible to carry it out in the period 1860-1900
The project deals with brewery history and is based on the museum's historical archive of Ringnes Brewery. From the 1860s until 1900, a number of technological and scientific innovations were adopted which influenced the quality of beer to become more durable and standardised. The period has been chosen to shed light on the start-up and how new knowledge about how enabling technologies, such as yeast and ice, give breweries the opportunity to establish and operate beer exports.
The research project within industrial and food history is affiliated to the Department of Historical Studies at NTNU in Trondheim. It started in autumn 2019.
"Co-designing with young non-visitors in the science museum: a qualitative study of processes, tools and outcomes"
The museum's potential as part of the learning world of children and young people is explored in this project. With the exhibition FOLK as a starting point, a number of participating workshops with young people and children have been organised.
The research project is associated with the PhD program at the School of Museum Studies, University of Leicester and is carried out in close collaboration with an interdisciplinary group from the museum and the Department of Journalism and Media Studies at Oslo Met. It started in autumn 2016.
NATIONAL AND INTERNATIONAL COOPERATION
Network and collaboration
The museum emphasizes networking and national collaboration and is responsible for the coordination and development of the Network for Technology and Industrial History and the National Museum Network for the History of Health and Medicine. In addition, the museum participates in these national networks: Network for knowledge centres, Network for worker culture and history of working life, Network for photography, Network for music and musical instruments, The Contemporary Network and Network for Women's History.
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The Norwegian Museum of Science and Technology er hovedansvarlig for Nettverk for industri- og teknologihistorie som det siste året har arbeidet med en kartleggingsrapport over industridokumentasjon, samt utarbeidet en enkel veileder i industridokumentasjon, med tips og råd om hvordan arbeidet kan gjennomføres. Dette prosjektet har vært ledet av SIKA i samarbeid med Museumsnettverk for teknologi- og industrihistorie, Norsk Trikotasjemuseum, The Norwegian Museum of Science and Technology, Nord-Jarlsberg-museene og Norsk hermetikkmuseum. Målet var å utarbeide en nasjonal oversikt over hvilke institusjoner som har arbeidet med industridokumentasjon, hva de har dokumentert og hvordan de har gjort det.
The network's spring seminar was held in 2019 on 6 and 7 May in Gjøvik, organized by the Mjøs Museums. The main theme of the seminar was the Gjøvik region's industry, with a focus on challenges related to industrial documentation in a changing industry. The autumn seminar was at The Norwegian Museum of Science and Technology . It was a larger seminar than usual, as it was a collaborative seminar with several institutions (SIKA, the Norwegian Archives Association and the museum networks of working culture and history of work and technology and industrial history).
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Nasjonalt Medisinsk Museum er hovedansvarlig museum for Nasjonalt museumsnettverk for helse- og medisinhistorie (NMHM). Et overordnet mål med nettverk er å spre og utvikle kunnskap om eldre, nyere og samtids helse- og medisinhistorie og hvordan befolkningen har møtt sine helsebehov. NMHM arbeider for å bidra til utveksling av faglig kompetanse, for å bidra til den offentlige samtalen om spørsmål knyttet til helse og medisin og for å styrke deltagernes samfunnsrolle, samt aktivt engasjement med samfunn og de besøkende/brukere. Årsseminaret for NMHM ble avholdt i Bergen og på Voss, 17.–18. juni 2019. Det var 44 deltakere til stede fra rundt 20 institusjoner. Nettverket har utviklet rammenotat og retningslinjer og valgt en styringsgruppe som jobber med å støtte museets rolle som hovedansvarlig for nettverket.
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Norsk fotohistorie 9. April 1940 til 22. Juli 2011: Norsk Folkemuseum, Preus museum, Nasjonalbiblioteket og The Norwegian Museum of Science and Technology samarbeider om et bredt anlagt forskningsprosjekt om nyere norsk fotohistorie som skal munne ut i forskningsbaserte artikler, en bokutgivelse og en utstilling på Preus. Prosjektet er forankret i Nettverk for fotografi. Samarbeidet der skal sikre et bredt geografisk nedslagsfelt og aktivisering av kunnskap om fotosamlinger og arkiv i hele landet.
The aim of the research project is to provide an understanding of photography in the period between 1940 and 2011. Media archaeological insights are the starting point for concrete aesthetic analyzes of how photography and photographic technologies have influenced perception, sensation and cognition in the period. An important sub-goal is to facilitate better practice in the institutions' work with material from the period.
Four of the museum's employees are involved in the project based on the museum's collections. The sub-projects they are working on are "Sohlberg Photo - Norwegian fashion for the people!", "Teller photography", "The sun always shines - about subject correction in the photo agency industry" and "Photography realizes climate". The project is supported by the Cultural Council's research program and by the Norwegian Photographers' Association.
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Metodeprosjektet «Nå begynner ‘a med det der igjen!» handler om kvinnehistoriske perspektiver i samlinger og utstillinger. Det er ledet av Kvinnemuseet/ Anno Museum, gjennomføres i Nettverket for kvinnehistorie og er støttet av Norsk Kulturråd 2018-2020. Museet deltar med delprosjektet «Kvinner og industrialisering – et bidrag til fornying av The Norwegian Museum of Science and Technologys industriutstillinger». Fokuset museets industriutstillinger i dag er i stor grad maskinen og fabrikken. Vi ønsker også å synliggjøre kvinnenes rolle i industrialiseringen. Et bevisst forhold til kjønn har hittil manglet i museets industriutstillinger. Kvinnehistoriske problemstillinger vil bidra til en mer balansert fremstilling av hvordan industrialiseringen var med på å omforme samfunnet til det vi har i dag. Det skal utvikles en metode som bidrar til å gjøre utstillingene relevante for dagens publikum. Dette gjelder for både skolelever og allmennheten, og et mer balansert kjønnsperspektiv inngår i denne metoden.
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Minner – samlingssted for samtidsdokumentasjon er et samarbeidsprosjekt mellom museer i Nettverk for samtidsdokumentasjon, Samtidsnett, støttet av Norsk Kulturråd 2018-2020. I løpet av perioden skal det gjennomføres nitten små og store innsamlinger samtidig som nettstedet minner.no videreutvikles som en felles plattform. KulturIT utfører den tekniske utviklingen og Norsk etnologisk gransking ved Norsk Folkemuseum er grunnmuren til minner.no. Målet er å styrke norske museers evne til å samle, ta vare på, utforske og formidle intervjuer av ulike slag og utvikle verktøy og metoder i samspill mellom museer, forskere og publikum. The Norwegian Museum of Science and Technology deltar med et prosjekt der minneinnsamlingen har foto som utgangspunkt: “Hvem er du som naturfotograf?”
International cooperation
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Prosjektet Framtidens tekniska museum er et utviklingssamarbeid mellom Tekniska museet, Danmarks Tekniske Museum og The Norwegian Museum of Science and Technology, støttet av Nordisk kulturfond i perioden 2019-2020. Utgangspunktet for prosjektet er utfordringer verden står overfor i vår tid, og hva de tekniske museene kan bidra med. De tre museene driver alle store utviklingsprosjekter omkring temaer som innovasjon og teknisk utvikling og det er behov for å dele erfaringer, tanker og visjoner for å bryte ny mark og finne gode arbeidsformer. Gjennom å treffes i løpet av tre seminarer – ett ved hvert museum, er målet å bli bedre kjent og utvikle en felles plattform for framtidige samarbeid i Norden. Resultatene fra arbeidet vil publiseres i en felles rapport og eventuelt i form av publiserte artikler.
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International Society for the History Philosophy and Social Studies of Biology (ISHPSSB) 2019. Denne biennale internasjonale konferansen ble avholdt i Oslo, 7.–12. juli 2019. The Norwegian Museum of Science and Technology ledet organiseringen av konferansen i samarbeid med Universitetet i Oslo. Det var mer enn 550 deltakere til stede fra 41 land. ISHPSSB 2019 fikk støtte fra Norges forskningsråd, UiO og UiO:Livsvitenskap.
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Museet deltar i det internasjonale museumsnettverket Artefacts, hvis mål er å fremme bruken av gjenstander og materiell kultur i teknologi- og vitenskapshistoriske studier. Det arrangeres årlige fagseminarer og utgis egen bokserie.
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The Medical Museum is a member of the European Association of Museums of the History of the Medical Sciences (EAMHMS). The network is an international forum for museums related to health and medicine, and initiates joint projects within the subject area and arranges conferences and courses.
Publications
Peer-reviewed publications
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Ageliki Lefkaditou (2019) "Yet another Greek tragedy? Physical anthropology and the construction of national identity in the late nineteenth century" i National races: Transnational power struggles in science and politics, 1840–1945, Richard McMahon, Lincoln: Nebraska University Press), s.141–174.
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Dagny Stuedahl, Torhild Skåtun, Ageliki Lefkaditou og Tobias Messanbrink (2019) "Participation and dialogue: Curatorial reflexivity in participatory practices", i European heritage, dialogue and digital practices, red. Areti Galani, Rhiannon Mason og Gabi Arrigoni, Oxon og New York: Routledge, s. 62– 83.
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Henrik Treimo (2020) "Sketches for a methodology on exhibition research" i Exhibitions as Research, red. Peter Bjerregaard, Oxon and New York: Routledge, s. 17–39.
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Tone Rasch “Fashion on the Ski Trail: Trousers for Women in the Norwegian Style”, Fashion Theory: Dress, Body & Culture, Russian Edition, Moscow, 51 (2019), 179-203.
Non-peer-reviewed publications
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Arve Nordsveen (2019) “Pakkhusbrygga ‘Gjøvik Stasjon’” i Årbok for Gjøvik - Tverrdalene 2019, ISBN 978-82-90323-53-5, s. 146-153.
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Arve Nordsveen (2019), “Breiskallen – en gang et betydelig industristed”, Oppland Arbeiderblad 20. oktober 2019.
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Arve Nordsveen (2019), "The history of the husmannsplassen/small farm Nordsveen" and "The Jesus Revival in 1972/73 seen a little from the inside but mostly from the outside". Småskrift, Raufossgruppa, Toten history team.
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BLIND SPOT – en utstilling om å se og se etter, Utstillingskatalog, 2019, The Norwegian Museum of Science and Technology, ISBN 978-82-90115-54-3 (red. Ageliki Lefkaditou, Henrik Treimo og Karen Kipphoff).
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FOLK – fra rasetyper til DNA-sekvenser, 2019, Utstillingskatalog. The Norwegian Museum of Science and Technology, ISBN 978-82-90115-55-0 (red. Ageliki Lefkaditou og Jon Røyne Kyllingstad)
