The Technical Museum in Stockholm - from past to future

The Technical Museum in Stockholm has reopened and we paid a visit. Among other things, we took a look at the fascinating new exhibition 'Hyper Human', which explores the border between man and machine, taking the visitor to the past and present, but above all to the future.

Technical Museum in Stockholm

Tekniska museet in Stockholm is a history of technology museum that has a lot to offer, both for adults and children. The museum has been closed since March, due to the coronavirus pandemic, but reopened on 30 May.

On their website, they say they are opening carefully, with different opening hours and no risk of crowding in the 12,000 square metres. We were here on a weekday and the premises were more or less deserted. There were signs telling you to keep your distance (although there was hardly anyone to keep your distance from), and here and there we found small tables with hand sanitiser.

The maths garden outside the Technical Museum

Outside the Technical Museum is a 'Maths Garden'. There are games for the children, but even we were childish enough to try to solve the little mazes. It wasn't easy, but in the end it worked!

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100 innovations

We started by looking at an exhibition called 100 innovations. This is an exhibition about the 100 most important innovations of all time (selected by adults and school students in a study). Really interesting! You can find everything from cars and vacuum cleaners to pacemakers and insulin.

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X-rays are an important invention, and with that, you may want to protect sensitive body parts from harmful X-rays. This is why the museum displays the protective "testicle holder" below. The soap was a bit interesting as it was apparently made from recycled frying oil from a falafel kitchen in Malmö. As you walk around, you find one exciting gadget after another.

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There are many interesting innovations in the exhibition and even the signs could be considered a bit "innovative" with Swedish and English text half on top of each other. But no, this was actually the only thing we didn't like about the exhibition. Why make something hard to read when you could make it easy to read?

The mine

Downstairs is the 'mine'. It actually feels a bit like going down into a real mine when you follow the narrow stairs down to a dark and slamming environment. What a shame to be a miner in the past!

In the mining exhibition you can also learn about modern mining in Sweden, and follow today's miners down the wide car roads underground. Interesting!

Technolect

There are plenty of games and activities for children at the Technical Museum. When we were here, there wasn't a single child in the Technology Centre, so we were able to have some fun on our own.

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Hyper Human

The 'Hyper Human' exhibition premiered in March, just before the museum was forced to close, so it still feels like it's brand new. The exhibition is about the border between man and machine, and leaves you with many questions and thoughts. Here's what the museum says about the exhibition:

What happens when technology makes it possible to design our children with gene editing? Where is the line between man and machine when we can enhance and replace body parts? Who has the power when we allow artificial intelligence to make decisions on crucial life choices?

The exhibition brings together many different machines, past, present and future. What was it like to be treated for iron lung in the 1950s? Were you really "cured" if you put a nickel in a machine at the Clara bathhouse to receive an electric shock? Will artificial hearts, similar to human hearts, be available for surgery in 2024, as planned?

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In the world of film and video games, creatures that are a mix of humans and robots are being developed, and some are being equipped with weapons. Will this be a reality one day? And those people who freeze themselves after death to be resurrected on the day of scientific progress, will they ever wake up? What happens when we start manipulating our genes? And what about, will we soon be in self-driving cars?

We really liked this exhibition. It takes you through history, but above all to the future, and asks many important questions.

Christopher Polhem and more exhibitions

Finally, we managed to check out the exhibition on the exciting inventor, entrepreneur and all-round genius Christopher Polhem. There are also a few other exhibitions that we didn't have time to look at in detail:

• Play Beyond Play - The Technical Museum's computer games programme
• MegaMind - Explore and experiment (available with reading, symbol support, sign language and more)
• Model railway - with 50 metres of rail
• Digital models - new ways to explore collections
• ESTIMATE - The Technical Museum's amateur radio station
• LM Ericsson Memorial Room - shown for booked groups

At the end of 2020, the exhibition "Moving to Mars" from The Design Museum in London.

Have you been to the Tekniska museet in Stockholm? Have you had time to see the new exhibition Hyper Human? What did you think?

Facts about the Technical Museum in Stockholm

• Address: Museivägen 7, Stockholm
• Location: Located at Museiparken on Gärdet, not far from the Kaknästornet tower.
• More info: You can find more information at the museum's website.

Opening hours

The opening hours below apply to the opening in June 2020, after the temporary closure due to the coronavirus pandemic. Please note that these opening hours may change. See the museum's website for current information.

• Opening hours: Tuesday-Sunday 11:00-16:00. Mondays closed. (June 2020)
• Different opening hours: The museum will be closed on Midsummer weekend (19-20) June. For other possible different opening hours, see the museum's website (2020).
• Telephone exchange: Tuesday to Friday 12:00-16:00.

Prices

• Entrance: 15o SEK (the entrance ticket gives access to all the museum's exhibitions) (2020).
• Children under 7 years old: Free admission.
• Group discount: Groups of at least 10 people have a 10 % discount.
• Schools and pre-schools: 50 SEK per pupil. (2020)
• Payment: Only cards and Swish (not cash).

Services and practical information

• For families with children: The MegaMind has a family room, with facilities for nappy changes, feeding and breaks.
• Storage: There are lockable lockers for storing outerwear and large bags.
• Food service: The restaurant Tekniska by Pontus serves lunch, sandwiches and coffee. There is also a canteen with microwave ovens and a coffee machine.
• Shop: There is a museum shop with gifts.
• Archive: The archive contains documents, maps, drawings and photos. Visits must be booked in advance.
• Library: The library contains 40,000 books. You can visit the reading room.

Activities

• Activities for children: The museum organises mega weekends with different themes and courses on weekends and school holidays (e.g. game development). The museum also travels the country with a touring science centre activity called "Maker Tour".
• School programmes: There is a large programme for the school, with workshops and tours.
• Conference and events: The premises can be booked for conferences, events and after work.

Accessibility

• Parking: For people with a special parking permit, there is a parking space directly at the museum entrance and two spaces opposite.
• Entrance: At the main entrance there are wide ramps with a 2.5 degree slope and a lift for electric wheelchairs.
• Availability of premises: A lift is available between all floors.
• Toilets:  The new service areas, the restaurant and MegaMind have accessible toilets.
• Customised exhibitions: In MegaMind, all texts can be read aloud, visually adapted (with larger text), sign interpreted and with symbol support.
• Telephone and hearing loop: A telephone and hearing loop is available in the auditorium.
• Companions and guide dogs: Companions join free of charge (show a companion licence). Guide dogs are welcome.

Getting to the Technical Museum

• Bus: Take bus 69 from Centralen to Museiparken.
• Car: There are some paid car parks at the museum. Please note that it can be difficult to find parking during school holidays and weekends, for example. There are also car parks at the Ethnographic Museum, Källhagen Inn and the Kaknästornet tower.