Seaplane Harbour

A temporary exhibition "Small Ships, Great Masters" that will showcase 26 masterful ship models from talented Estonian model makers.

Client:

Estonian Maritime Museum

Name of the exhibition:

Small Ships, Great Masters

Location:

Tallinn, Estonia

Exhibition area:

60 m²

Year:

2022

Scope of work:

Exhibition and exhibits graphics design, production and installation. Content and exhibition development. Project management.

Photography:

Aron Urb

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About

Estonian Maritime Museum brings together local and foreign visitors in one of the grandest maritime museums in Europe. The museum is located in two separate buildings.

One of them is a 500-year-old artillery tower and the other one a 100-year-old hangar for seaplanes. This unique atmosphere of military architecture from different eras which host unique hands-on exhibits and wonders of the sea, have resulted in one of the most popular museums in the region.

History

The Estonian Maritime Museum was founded in 1935 by former captains and sailors. After it was first opened, the museum changed locations many times before finding its current home in 1981 inside a mediaeval artillery tower called Fat Margaret. In 2012 the Maritime Museum opened the second building at the Seaplane Harbour.

The second building also features unique military architecture and while its history as a base for seaplanes during the first world war has ended, it has now become a recognizable museum in the region, famous for its columnless domes.

Goals and Challenges

One of our clear goals with the museum was having rotating model ships that would allow visitors to see the exhibits from all perspectives. This also ended up causing one of the biggest challenges, as the supply issues that started during the pandemic, had caused a shortage of suitable electric motors in Europe. In the end we were successful in getting the rotating exhibits ready on time.

Highlights

It’s difficult to bring out a highlight, because there are too many from which to pick, but the ship model gallery is definitely an attention seeker. The gallery features 26 rotating model ships throughout history. The rotating exhibits let the visitors see the models from every angle and closely study the intricate design of these ships.

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