Arktikum — Attraction in Rovaniemi sub-region

An absolute must when visiting Rovaniemi. You will need something to do during the day when waiting see the Northern lights and Arkituim is number 1. First of all, I would recommend NOT buying the culture pass, the Pilke Museum next door is optional unless you really like wood and the Contemporary Art / Orchestra place might not be your 'cup of tea' but that's your call. Now about Arktikum...

....The building Arkituim is housed in is a piece of art itself, with it's long narrow curved glass corridor. It is said on a clear night you can see the Northern lights from there, but during our trip (mid Jan 2020) it was cloudy and snowing. When we visited there was an exhibition on the left hand side of the main corridor about the changes in the Arctic region over the last 60 years from a conservation perspective. This was fascinating and it's centrepiece was the lay down room to watch a video projection of the Northern Lights.

On the right of the corridor was an exhibit covering the people, history and animals of Lap Land and Rovaniemi. This was very well made and the section on WWII and the winter war storyline was inspiring to see the plight of the Finn's against the Russians and equally heart breaking to see the devastating bombing of Rovaniemi.

Overall, I really enjoyed Arktikum and it's portrayal of Finnish Lapland. And let's face it, Finland is a pretty boring place at the best of times (unless you like the same tree 12 million times in a row or hanging out at petrol stations playing poker machines), but Lap Land is an amazing place and should be visited at least once in your life with Arkituim high on your list of things to do...

I visited on a Sunday during peak tourist season. I went early and it was quiet but picked up throughout the day.

Note: the buffet is closed on Sundays, but the lady at the desk let us find somewhere nearby for lunch and return to finish the exhibits.

The Arctic exhibition was surprisingly informative. I played with all the interactive displays and enjoyed myself as much as kids would. My partner and I enjoyed drawing icebergs, building an igloo, creating digital snowflakes and playing with the weather screen to see how wind affects temperatures. As I'm someone from the southern hemisphere, the flora and fauna are completely new to me and this was a great way to learn about Finland.

The Aurora display left me excited to see the northern lights and helped me with information to couple with a tour I had in the evening to go Northern light hunting.

Overall good experience, toilets were cleaned in the morning shortly after we entered, the online site/map was simple and made sense as we traveled through the rooms, private lockers with codes were great for our gear and free wifi to utilise the online map and info.

Oh! And there are QR codes on some displays that link to an audio recording you can listen to on your own device.

One day was plenty of time to...

A beautiful museum with excellent exhibits and display techniques. The nature and culture exhibition areas are divided into left and right side, and the culture side shows how the people of the Far North have historically lived with animals and snow. The nature exhibits question human activities with respect to nature, such as climate change and environmental pollution. These exhibits convey the assertion that nature and culture are not separate in the Arctic. The many exhibits on the Sami people and other indigenous peoples of the Arctic do not fall into the stereotype of an 'old way of life in harmony with nature', but rather show how they live with science, technology and consumption in the modern era. In addition, the exhibition on Ounasvaara, one of Finland's oldest ski resorts, the Winter War and the occupation by Nazi Germany are excellent for learning about the history of modern Finland, especially Lapland. Of course, the exhibits are not at all esoteric. With many child-appealing exhibits and a museum shop stocked with Sami crafts, this is a must-see...