The Universe and I

Step into the world of astronomy at the Helsinki University Museum Flame, where the permanent exhibition The Universe and I explores both the science of the skies and the history of the Observatory building. On the main floor, the Meridian Hall preserves the feel of an old astronomical observation facility, with its large equipment still in the original spots. From there, the exhibition moves out into space: phenomena in our solar system, the life cycle of stars, the structure and scale of the universe, and the different wavelengths of light.

Hands-on elements let you check your image on an infrared camera, peer into a cloud chamber to spot traces of cosmic particles, and touch a meteorite that formed five billion years ago. The exhibits also tell the bigger story: the chemical elements in the human body were created through nuclear reactions inside stars, making you literally 'a child of the stars.' If you book a guide in advance, you can extend the visit to the old observation towers and a planetarium show in the vault, where the Helsinki 'sky' appears in the dark.