The University of Helsinki, Aalto University, the City of Helsinki and the Museum of Technology have started a preliminary investigation into founding a joint museum of technology.

The project – under the working title Finnish Museum of Science and Technology - would combine the science exhibitions and collections of the universities in the Metropolitan area and the Museum of Technology. The universities and the museum have agreed on the inquiry to be carried out by Per-Edvin Persson, manager of the Heureka science centre, by the end of 2013.

- The university wants to take an initiative in this cultural area of societal interaction. For the project to succeed, both the universities, museums and the National Board of Antiquities, as well as the City of Helsinki and other cities in the Metropolitan area, foundations, science associations and societies would have to contribute and cooperate, Vice-Rector Kimmo Kontula says.

The museum is planned to be a new, appealing tourist attraction for the Metropolitan area. In addition, it could be utilised as a forum for scientific and cultural events, as well as a meeting point for universities, the public sector, and the business world.

Analysis of the future of museums

Lately, the university has been considering a renewal of its museums. The Museum of Natural History is a popular venue, but the general public has not quite found its way to the university museum in Arppeanum.

The university will give up Arppeanum by the end of 2014, but its exhibition will live on. The university will set up a basic exhibition displaying the history of the university in the Main Building; it will be opened in 2015, when the university celebrates its 375th jubilee. Some of the exhibits from the university museum may also be placed on different campuses.

Text: Tiina Palomäki
Translation: Marina Kurtén