SORTAVALA STONE KEYS / SORTAVALA

THE IDEA

Name: Sortavala Stone Keys
Place: Entrance exhibition hall (50 sq.m) and its outside area (museum yard) (300 sq. m.)

The exhibition targets at:
- Presenting the North Ladoga Region (and Sortavala as its symbolic key) as a group of (stone) blocks that form a common (stone) basement as one of the most important (stone) supports for what (construction, bridge) binds the Russian, Karelian, Finnish and All-European cultures into one.

- Creating a special type of the exhibition in the system of exhibitions, tours and travel routes of the Regional Museum of North Ladoga Lake that combines the functions of (a) a monographic narrative devoted to a particular topic and (b) a hypertext-based reference and information guide designed to help the visitors find their way in the information environment of the museum.

- Creating a friendly high tech information environment within the museum exhibition in order to help the visitors to create their own strategies, scenarios and tours to get familiarized and interact with this particular museum and other museums in the region, with the city, with the area, with the Republic of Karelia, with Russia and the world (including their geography, history and culture).

Structure of the exhibition:

1. Natural history (local minerals and rocks of different composition, age and origin)
2. Archaeology (materials used by ancient people to make tools, weapons, cult objects)
3. Ethnic history (materials to make household utensils, dishware, decorations, amulets)
4. Industrial history (iron ore, copper ore, silver ore, other minerals for the industry)
5. War history (materials to make fortresses, cannon charges, flint weapons)
6. Political history (stone materials to mark state borders and to produce symbols of power);
7. History of communications (samples of materials used to make roads, bridges, piers, computers)
8. History of architecture and design (building materials, finishing materials)
9. Art history (materials used to make famous monuments, bas-reliefs, gravestones)

THE IMPLEMENTATION

Sortavala Stone Keys permanent exhibition features stones typical for this area like granites and marbles and tells about different ways of mining and processing. The exhibition also introduces the city of Sortavala with its history, architecture and culture.

The exhibition contains:
- The central module - maps of North Ladoga area with a set of play figures;
- Six exhibition sections, “the keys” (four in the big exhibition hall and two in the small exhibition room) - each presents museum objects, posters with photographs, electronic presentations;
- There is a wi-fi connection in the exhibition. Selected exhibits have QR codes that lead to the Open Karelia system. Visitors can use their own gadgets or borrow a tablet computer from the museum;
- An interactive sandbox is installed in the small exhibition hall. It helps visitors to imagine stages of landscape evolution of the Earth.

Two design solutions of the open-air exhibition for the museum’s backyard were developed and suggested. These solutions can be used for further development of the Sortavala Stone Keys exhibition. The project provided financial support to deliver exhibits (large building stones, trim stones, decorative stones) from the mining sites to the museum. They will be used in the future open-air exhibition.

More photos of the exhibition