All fourteen attractions of the exhibition examine four primary themes: sun, plasma, magnetism, and aurora borealis. The presentation in VISIO is a narrative film in which a grandfather, father, and son explore the science, stories, and beliefs regarding northern lights.
“Developing and implementing the exhibition has been both challenging and fun. It has been great to learn more about the topic, but that has also made the work demanding – I too have had to learn how to explain complex scientific phenomena understandably and experientially”, the exhibition project’s manager Tietomaa’s Exhibition Manager Jukka Pitkänen explains.
The curator of Aurora Revelare, northern light photographer Thomas Kast, was born in Germany. He witnessed the aerial phenomenon for the first time in Raattama in 1998. His enthusiasm for photographing the phenomena was born over a decade later: “In 2011, I saw northern lights online and I knew that I wanted to photograph and experience them myself as well. Photographs are lovely but the feeling of witnessing magical light illuminate the night sky is impossible to put into words. The flame of aurora was lit inside me, and it still continues to burn.”
The team wants to share information and appeal to the visitors with the exhibition. Jukka Pitkänen hopes that visitors can both experience and understand northern lights. He wants to create a moment where science and experience meet, and where one can feel the same enchantment of witnessing real aurora borealis in the sky.
Thomas Kast agrees: “I hope that visitors can take a piece of northern lights with them through the VISIO presentation, and that a flame of inspiration takes people outdoors to peer into the sky, hoping to see the northern lights.”
Science Centre Tietomaa and Tiima open to the public on October 9, 2026.
Aurora Revelare – Dancing Lights in the Sky is a part of Oulu’s official European Capital of Culture year 2026 programming.