The museum building is being renovated for the future

The Norrbotten Museum building in Hermelinsparken has been closed to visitors since February 2024. The reason is the renovation that the historic building from 1936 is now undergoing.

Initially, it was about renovating the building's windows and in parallel with that, the heating system was replaced. Right now, the ventilation in the house is being replaced. After that, the ceiling and lighting will be replaced, fire safety will be reviewed and the entrance gate will be replaced, among other things.

The big news is that the building will have a climate-adapted floor plan, which means that it will be possible to display objects from the museum's collections in a way that was not previously possible.

Interior photo from one of the floors of the museum building during renovation work.

Long-term perspective

While the renovation is underway, planning is also underway for new exhibitions to be built for the reopening. One exhibition that will remain is the popular children's play environment, "In the Past", which will be moved to another floor and updated to more clearly reflect the entire county.

Today it is not possible to say when the museum will reopen, but when it does, new exhibitions await visitors.

– We want to develop both the building and the experience for visitors. Everything we do is done with a long-term perspective. We are building the museum of the future, says Anna Lundgren, head of department for public operations.

Renovation of the café section of Norrbotten Museum.

Full speed despite closed house

While the museum building is closed, Norrbotten Museum has also invested in developing external public activities. Touring activities in the county have been expanded, including establishing new partnerships with libraries. Being present in new places reaches new people, which provides experiences to include in planning when the museum reopens.

– We are so looking forward to opening day and a house bustling with visitors, but first we will finish renovating and then fill the house with exhibitions for experiences again. We can't wait until we can open again, says Anna Lundgren.

The museum building is owned by Regionfastigheter. The project is led by Region Norrbotten's construction project manager Jan Kangas. The renovation is estimated to cost 20 million SEK.

Photos: Robin Näslund, Norrbotten Museum. CC-BY.

Contact

Catrine Backman, communicator Norrbotten Museum
catrine.backman@norrbotten.se, 072-231 36 56