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 Østfold Museums. The project also involves three Swedish museums: Malmö Museums, Gothenburg City Museum and Tekniska Museet. The project builds on the Things Method (2015-2018), the museum's method development in LAB since 2014, as well as 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 published in the form of several articles and a book. The ambition is to contribute to strengthening the societal role and position of museums as research and knowledge institutions, on the museums' own terms. The project is supported by the Norwegian Arts Council's museum development programme Research in Museums, and will continue in 2021.
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 specifically addresses 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 project was completed during the year. A monograph is being published and will be published by Fagbokforlaget in spring 2021.
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 continues in 2021.
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 project Reduced aging and active conservation of plastic objects in museums and collections (Rapmus) has as its main goal to develop new conservation methods and strategies for plastic objects through collaboration between the plastics industry, object conservators and collection managers. In the process, NTM gains 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 is one of the first electric cars to come to Norway. It was constructed by Ferdinand Porsche at the Jacob Lohner & Co. carriage factory in Vienna around 1905-1906. In 2019, the museum carried out a preliminary project on the car, with financial support from Autozentrum Sport AS, Porsche Norge, which included technical investigations and condition assessments. In 2020, there has been particular effort 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 work of recent years has been important steps 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 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 with 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 standardized. 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 is affiliated to the Department of Historical Studies at NTNU in Trondheim. It started in autumn 2019.
Science, Identity and belonging - Co-designing with young people at a Science museum, a qualitative study of process
The project takes a closer look at the museum as a space for dialogic interactions, knowledge processes and how the museum perceives itself as an active participant in people's world of learning and experience. Together with a group of young people from Grorud Youth Council and an interdisciplinary team, we have designed the digital installation Lyden av FOLK, linked to the exhibition FOLK (2018-19). One year after opening FOLK, we collaborated again with two of the young people and organized a workshop with children where we designed a museum activity.
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 and is to be delivered in 2021.
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, 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. Nettverket har som målsetting å styrke samarbeid og faglig utveksling mellom norske museer og andre institusjoner som arbeider med teknologi- og industrihistorie. Formålet er å samle inn, forvalte, forske på, formidle og fornye norsk teknologi- og industrihistorie, samt dokumentere hvordan teknologi og industri stadig endrer seg i samfunnet. På grunn av korona ble det ikke arrangert seminar våren 2020. Høsten 2020 var det planlagt et fysisk seminar 9. - 10. november 2020 her på The Norwegian Museum of Science and Technology. På grunn av andre nedstigning ble det heller ikke mulig å avholde det planlagte seminaret 9. og 10.november i Oslo. Programmet ble nedskalert og avholdt på Teams. På det digitale seminaret var det 34 deltakere fra 18 ulike museer og institusjoner.
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Nasjonalt medisinsk museum er hovedansvarlig 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. Nettverket har utviklet et rammenotat og retningslinjer og valgt en styringsgruppe som jobber med å støtte museets rolle som hovedansvarlig for nettverket. Det har etablert en egen nettside, http://helseogmedisinhistorie.no. Nettverkets årsseminar 2020 var planlagt å finne sted ved Glomdalsmuseet, Anno Museum, i juni, men måtte utsettes til 2021 på grunn av koronasituasjonen. I oktober deltok flere av nettverkets medlemmer på en forhåndsvisning av den kommende utstillingen Liv og død.
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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. I 2020 er det avholdt flere interne forskningsseminaret for å utvikle delprosjektene og styrke deltagernes forskningskompetanse. 18.- til 19. November arrangerte museet i samarbeid med Nasjonalbiblioteket webinaret Offentleg fotografi. Fotografisk mangfald i publiserings- og kunnskapsprosessar, der tre av museets medarbeidere holdt innlegg om sine forskningsprosjekter. Webinaret ble fulgt av omlag 100 personer på zoom og YouTube og er publisert på nb.no. https://www.nb.no/artikler/offentlig-fotografi/. Det er også publisert en fagfellevurdert artikkel av museets medarbeidere fra prosjektet i 2020.
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!, Counter photography, The sun shines always – about schematic photo motifs in the photo agency industry and Photography realizes climate.
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.
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 2018-2021. Museet deltar med delprosjektet «Kvinner og industrialisering – et bidrag til fornying av The Norwegian Museum of Science and Technologys industriutstillinger». Fokuset i museets industriutstillinger i dag er i stor grad maskinen og fabrikken. Vi ønsker også å synliggjøre kvinnenes rolle i industrialiseringen. Kvinnehistoriske problemstillinger vil bidra til en mer balansert fremstilling av hvordan industrialiseringen var med på å omforme samfunnet til det vi har i dag og bidra til å gjøre utstillingene relevante for dagens publikum. Museet har også laget en Rødlenke-liste på Wikipedia for å synliggjøre kvinnelige pionerer innenfor industri, teknikk og arbeidsmiljø. Også det kvinnelige nettverket Katti Anker Møller var en del av og som resulterte i Barselhjemutstillingen i 1916 er satt inn i denne listen og vil bli en del av utstillingen Liv og død.
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Minner – samlingssted for samtidsdokumentasjon er et samarbeidsprosjekt mellom museer i Nettverk for samtidsdokumentasjon, Samtidsnett, støttet av Norsk Kulturråd 2018-2021. 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: “Bilder i naturen?”
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 2019-2021. 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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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.
Peer-reviewed publications
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Rasch, T. (2020). National versus International. Norwegian Fashion Photography, Clothing Industry and Women's Magazines in the Mid-Twentieth Century, in Fashioned in the North: Nordic histories, agents and images of fashion photography, Anna Dahlgren (ed.), Stockholm: Nordic Academic Press.
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Skåtun, T. (2020). Science, Identity and Belonging: Future Workshop: a structuring tool for co-designing with young people in Young Critics, a guide for children and young people participation in museums. The Norwegian Museums Association, 45–51.
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Sørlie, T. (2020). Det handler om mennesker – Fotografiske klimaendringer i Arbeiderbladet mellom 1948 og 1997, Mediehistorisk Tidsskrift, 2020, (34), 70-100. http://medietidsskrift.no/content/uploads/pub/2020/12/NMF-tidsskrift-02_2020-web.pdf
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Treimo, T. & Lefkaditou, A. (2020). Curating Blindspot. Kipphoff, K. and Allsopp, R., eds. Blind Spot: Staring down the void. Aberystwyth: Performance Research Books, 169–182.
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Treimo, H. (2020). Sketches for a methodology on exhibition research. Peter Bjerregaard, editor. Exhibitions as Research. Oxon and New York: Routledge, 19–39.
Non-peer-reviewed publications
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Lange, E. (2020). Diary notes. About the Corona Diaries project. Museum news , 2020 (3)
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Langleite, A. (2020). The government quarter. Oslo: Norsk the norwegian museum of science and technology .
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Nordsveen, A. (2020). From utedo to maschindass, Yearbook for Gjøvik Historielag Tverrdalene, Gjøvik Historielag, 36-39.
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Nordsveen, A. (2020). Breiskallen - an industrial community at the beginning of the 19th century, Yearbook for Gjøvik Historielag Tverrdalene, Gjøvik Historielag, 131 - 137.
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Nordsveen, A. (2020). The story of the boat Prøven/Bundefjord, Mjøsmuseet's Yearbook, Mjøsmuseet AS in collaboration with the Toten ökomuseum foundation, 6-23.
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Rasch, T. (2020). Knitting traditions in the signs of folk art, book review, Museumsnytt, 2020. https://museumsnytt.no/strikketraditioner-i-folkekunstens-tegn/