Science, Art and History.

These are the museums that seem to appear in every city I visit. Many of them are great museums, with people doing great things! Several years back, I wrote very positively about the then relatively new History Colorado Center, and the recent trend where museums are increasingly including more interactive exhibits. At last summer’s TEDxMileHigh event, Chip Colwell, of the Denver museum of Science and Nature, gave an excellent speech about returning sacred artifacts to indigenous people.

However, sometimes I get more excited about visiting the museums that are more unique to a specific city. In Stockholm, there was no shortage of such museums. First, as pictured above, is the Nobel Museum, one that I would consider a must see!

It includes galleries with artifacts from past Nobel Prize winners, exhibits about the history of the Nobel Prize, as well as the life of Alfred Nobel. Visitors can also quickly look up the Nobel Prize winner for any year, in any category by going one of a series of kiosks associated with each decade.

In case you need inspiration, there are moving banners flying around the museum, each one with a picture and short description of the work of one specific Nobel Prize winner. They are in what seems like random order.

There is also a video room, a place one can easily spend a couple of hours. Videos in this room tell the story behind many of the Nobel Prize winners and their work. My favorite story was the story of Linus Pauling’s discovery of the double helix (structure of DNA, the basic building blocks of human genetics). Trying to determine how the chemical compounds would fit together spatially, he started folding sheets of paper around, eventually folding them into the shape of the double helix structure, which we now accept as scientific fact.

It is hard not to admire scientific creativity after hearing a story like this one!

There are also very few places in the world with a museum dedicated to one single musical act. With acts like Aviccii, Tove Lo and Swedish House mafia, it is hard to dispute that Sweden, a country of roughly 10 million people, produces its fair share of musical acts who are popular worldwide. However, ABBA seems to invoke a special amount of national pride, enough for them to have their own museum.

Unlike the Nobel Museum, which is right in the center of the city, on Gamla Stan island, this museum is a little bit out of the way, on an island called Skansen. It is also a little bit pricier. However, the museum was fun. It took interactive exhibits to a whole new level. Each ticket gives attendees the option to take a try at singing, dancing, producing music videos, as well as things like trivia and operating a mixing board! It also had some information about other components of Swedish musical history, including the EuroVision competition, and all the concerts that have played, over the years, at an amusement park called Gröna Lund.

I left the ABBA museum somewhat unexpectedly sad. I did not previously know that the band was made up of two married couples, and that at the end of their run, both couples divorced, and the four best friends just simply went their separate ways.

I guess this is the same reason people cry at movies, and get emotional about people who are not a part of their lives, like famous couples. I know in my head that life has chapters, sometimes it is just time to move on, and that being both married and in a band with someone can lead to a disaster.

It was still hard to emotionally contemplate. I thought of the excitement that comes with every new relationship. I thought of how happy they all looked, in the music videos and photographs shown in the museum. Then, I thought of the arguments, the emotional pain, the sadness and the loneliness, how something so good could go so bad. Maybe they were all mature about it. I know, though, it is always hard. I thought back to the breakups I had in my past, specifically those that were “mutual” and “clearly for the best”. Even those breakups, while not causing years of heartache still had their messiness; arguments, nights without sleep, etc.

Stockhom certainly has other museums that are unique. The city’s most popular museum is dedicated to a 17th century ship that capsized within minutes. I chose, however, to visit a museum dedicated to Photography.

This museum is interesting for three reasons.

1. It has no permanent exhibits; only temporary ones. This is an interesting concept, and a great way to appeal to locals.

This winter, there is a special exhibit dedicated to x-ray photography, something I knew little to nothing about before visiting this museum.

2. There may be more and more museums dedicated to photography in the future, as, although a century and a half old, photography is still relatively newer of a field than Art, Science, or History.

3. The museum actually boasts one of the best skyline views in the city, both from the riverfront outside the museum, as well as from the bar on the top floor!

I believe there is something unique about every city I visit. Even the standard museums, the art, science, and especially the history museums showcase something unique to the city or region. Through visiting these places, we get an idea as to each place’s unique story. A part of Stockholm’s story is the story of Alfred Nobel’s writing a series of awards for human achievement into his will. It is the way local felt when ABBA won EuroVision 1974. It is also the photographs taken by local photographers displayed here every autumn.