Ikikallio tells stories again at the City Museum's exhibition
The Vantaa City Museum’s popular Ikikallion tarinoita – mammuteista meidän aikaamme (“Tales of the primeval rock - From the ice age to the present day”) exhibition returns based on the wishes of customers. The fall guided tours for daycare and school groups have been almost completely booked.
Image: Tom Björklund
The City Museum's Ikikallion tarinoita – mammuteista meidän aikaamme exhibition first opened in September 2023. It became the City Museum’s most popular exhibition up to that point in terms of visitor numbers.
“We received requests for the exhibition to be extended, but the schedules for the following exhibitions had already been decided,” says Curator of Education Marjo Eerikäinen.
Museums rarely bring back old exhibitions, but an exception was made for Ikikallio due to the high demand. The look of the exhibition was updated based on the ideas of interior design students at Metropolia.
“There are surprises to be found even for those who previously visited the exhibition,” says Eerikäinen.
The renewed exhibition’s opening day will be held on October 2. The day will be open to everyone, and the program will include guided tours through the exhibition and coffee catering.
Ikikallio inspires school groups to explore Vantaa’s past
The Ikikallion tarinoita exhibition is especially designed for child visitors. A guided tour and workshop planned by Eerikäinen is available for daycare and school groups. This has inspired many teachers to bring their groups to the museum, and the morning guided tours have been almost completely booked for this year.
“There are still afternoon tours available, and we are already arranging group visits for the spring semester,” says Eerikäinen.
The exhibition rooms take you from one era and atmosphere to another. The beginning describes Ikikallio under ice, at the bottom of the sea, and then progresses to introduce tribes of different eras, as well as, for instance, a very interesting shaman. Finally, the exhibition explores the work of archaeologists.
The exhibition is based on the children's book of the same name. The work was written by the museum's archaeologist Andreas Koivisto and illustrated by Tom Björklund, an artist specialized in prehistory. The model of the rock is Stenkullanmäki—situated in Hakkila in Vantaa—whose surroundings show signs of human activity dating back to the Stone Age. In addition to the story and pictures in the book, archaeological objects found in Vantaa are also on display from the collections of the Finnish Heritage Agency and the National Museum of Finland.
The exhibition is open from October 2, 2025, to August 30, 2026, Tues–Thurs at 11–18, Sat–Sun at 11–16, at the address Hertaksentie 1, 01300 Vantaa. Free admission.
Further information about the exhibition:
Further information about opening day 2th of October 2025:
