Helsinki University Museum Flame and the University of Jyväskylä’s University Museum have jointly launched a project delving into difficult and partly unspoken topics in the history of Finnish scholarship. The museums are producing exhibitions and events on the topic in Helsinki and Jyväskylä. The exhibition at Helsinki University Museum Flame will open in early 2027.
The project is connected to discussion in Finland and abroad that has in recent years stemmed from darker areas of cultural heritage. The collections of the university museums also contain material that, from a contemporary perspective, appears controversial. For example, objects, photographs and archival material related to craniometry, eugenics and colonialism raise questions about research ethics and methods.
In the project, the museums examine controversies in the history of scholarship together with various stakeholders, at the same time increasing understanding of the development of research ethics. The project has a steering group for content, with representatives from the Finnish National Board on Research Integrity, the History of Science project and the discipline of museology at the University of Jyväskylä.
Helsinki University Museum Flame will communicate on the project’s progress more extensively in 2026.
Further information about the project: Miia-Leena Tiili, Museum Director,