Viking Planet - Oslo, Norway
Viking Planet is a modern, interactive museum about Viking history located in downtown Oslo, Norway. The museum features a VR Viking experience, several high-quality videos, touch screen timelines, and discovery boards, as well as traditional text information. It is a fun, extremely interactive museum with a wealth of information. It is a well-balanced museum. There is enough information to spend an afternoon at Viking Planet but it will not take up your whole day. Additionally, the wide variety of media and interactive elements keep you engaged.
Museum Features
Viking Planet includes a wide variety of features ranging from high tech experiences to simple text displays.
Documentary Movies
The documentary movies provided were well done. One of them had a 180° curved screen which was neat. The second film was on a traditional flat rectangular screen. I found the movie content was fairly limited compared to the rest of the museum. But they gave the visitor a nice break to sit back and relax between interactive elements.
Interactive Artifact Viewing
There are touch screens available in Viking Planet that allow visitors to view and manipulate 3D models of Viking Artifacts. I believe the artifacts were from the Viking Ship Museum which is currently closed for renovation in 2023. Visitors could also view 3D models of settlements and ships. Besides viewing the models, the screens present a lot of information about the artifacts that visitors can click through. Considering Viking Planet does not have any artifacts to view in person, I think this is an innovative way to provide historic artifacts to visitors. Additionally, in a traditional museum you cannot pick up artifacts and see all the different angles. In this experience you could pick them up and see every side, zoom in, and get a wealth of information about each detail.
Interactive Timelines
Viking Planet has two large interactive timelines available: Viking History Timeline and Viking War Timeline. They are touch screens on long tables. Visitors can touch a date on the screen to view text information as well as images, 3D images, or videos. I was very impressed by the amount of information available in the timelines. It was very informative but could get a bit overwhelming after a while. The interactive media available was very high quality and helped to break up all the reading. The Viking Battle timeline included several videos that even depict the strategies and troop movement throughout the battles. I thought these visuals were very helpful.
Customizing Viking Games
There were touch screes available where visitors could play a game. You could build your own Viking warrior, lady, or ship. As you picked the attributes of your character or ship the screen would provide information about each garment, weapon, class, or ship component. After building your character or ship the game would tell you if your raid or expedition would be successful. This was a fun interactive element that you could do at your own pace. There were also some touch panels visitors could go through about the Viking gods and monsters of lore.
Holograms
One section of Viking Planet has holograms! I thought this was pretty wild and was very impressed. Visitors can sit at tablets along a barrier overlooking the hologram stage. Holograms of Viking villagers, royalty, etc. from various lines of work come out one at a time and do a little turn. Some talk or sing or perform small actions. The tablets have information to read about all the characters, so visitors can look at how they are dressed and learn about their places in society.
Virtual Reality Experience
The VR experience was a fairly small part of the museum content but definitely unique. There is a small movie theater like area where each seat has a VR headset. The seats also move some to give a 4D experience. You put the headset on and are suddenly around a campfire with villagers and then out on a raid in a Viking ship. Some of the experience is a bit violent and gory so it might not be great for little children, but it was a cool experience. The graphics reminded me of Skyrim, the video game. It was entertaining, but I found I wished I could help the other Vikings out and not just sit watching! There is a VR game available for extra cost at Viking Planet where you can help fight in the battle. Maybe that is there way of getting you to want to play the extra game!
Traditional Text Info
Throughout Viking Planet there are several walls with traditional test information for visitors to read about the Viking as well. This portion is smaller than the rest of the museum. I think it is nice to be able to switch between the screens, videos, interactive elements, and text to keep your brain engaged. Overall, the information was very interesting and written concisely.
Who Goes Here?
Tourists or anyone interested in learning about Viking history in Oslo, Norway.
Venue
Viking Planet starts and ends with the gift shop where you can buy tickets. The extra VR fighting game is available in this area too. After, you buy tickets the museum is downstairs. It is open and you can visit the various elements in any order. It is fairly dark because of all the screens and hologram elements throughout. A free green screen photo booth available to visitors. There are very nice bathrooms available that are easy to find and a lot of seating throughout the museum. Viking planet appeared to be very new, clean, and well maintained. The staff were very friendly and helpful. All the audio and text is available in multiple languages, so visitors from all over the world can enjoy the experience. Viking planet is not free with the Oslo Pass, but you do get a 15% discount with the Oslo Pass.
Location
The location is great! Though, I was surprised to see it unassumingly nestled into a strip mall area, so it does not stand out. Viking Planet is conveniently located near the Nobel Peace Prize Museum, the National Museum, and many shops and restaurants downtown in Oslo.
Interested in other museums in Norway?
Summary
Viking Planet is a modern interactive Viking history museum in Oslo, Norway. I would recommend this museum to anyone interested in a fun learning experience. Viking planet has a wide variety of media, videos, virtual reality, holograms, and interactive elements filled with interesting information.
