Tromsø Museum

“Focus on Fire” New stone age exhibition at Tromsø Museum, opened in the summer of 2006

In connection with the development of Melkøya outside Hammerfest, archaeologists were given a unique opportunity to investigate traces of a settlement and activities on a whole island. The finds were impressive and tell us about a settlement which existed for many thousand years.

The museum wanted to show what life was like in the stone-age and portray what was advanced about stone-age man rather than what was primitive.

The exhibition was created in such a way that it helps us to understand the world we live in today. Through the use of multimedia and physical activities, the visitors are shown how fire and the available resources were utilized throughout the stone-age. Changes in the climate,types of tools and living conditions are highlighted to display that which was attractive in the culture and life of the stone-age. The construction of the exhibition is in a modern expressive style, and reconstructions are focused around the archaeological site.

The exhibition works well with school classes who find the activities attractive. The exhibition has also been perceived as an exciting reinvention of the museum’s method of communication.