A new exhibition titled “These things changed the world” has been opened in the museum located in the Old Town of Stockholm.

Its purpose is to enlighten visitors on the transformative impact of individuals—be they researchers, writers, or activists—who have made profound contributions to the realms of science, literature, and peace. Recognized with Nobel Prizes for their remarkable achievements, these visionaries not only reshaped our world but also offer fresh insights into our existence and the possibilities that lie ahead.

The exhibition delves into extraordinary discoveries and accomplishments, showcasing artifacts contributed to the museum’s collection by Nobel Prize laureates.

“For the first time, we present such a wide selection of souvenirs donated since the beginning of the first decade of the 21st century by Nobel Prize winners, their families, or institutions associated with them,” emphasized Erika Lanner, director of the facility.

The objects in the exhibition include not only tools related to the scientific research of Nobel Prize winners (such as Skłodowska-Curie’s scale) or their work (like Wałęsa’s table from the Gdańsk Shipyard) but also those that testify to ordinary life before and after receiving the famous laurel.

Szymborska’s glasses did not serve to correct vision defects; rather, they allowed the shy poet to remain unrecognized. Tokarczuk wrote down a plan of daily duties in her thick calendar, including household tasks. Those proficient in Polish can delve into the writer’s private life by zooming in on individual pages.

Contributions of Poles included

Lech Wałęsa, president of Poland between 1990 and 1995, was awarded the Nobel Peace Prize in 1983 for his non-violent struggle for free trade unions and human rights in Poland.

Olga Tokarczuk was awarded the 2018 Nobel Prize for Literature in 2019 for “a narrative imagination that with encyclopedic passion represents the crossing of boundaries as a form of life”.

Similarly, Wisława Anna Szymborska, a Polish poet and essayist, was a recipient of the 1996 Nobel Prize in Literature “for poetry that with ironic precision allows the historical and biological context to come to light in fragments of human reality.”

In 1903, Maria Curie and her husband won the Nobel Prize in Physics for discovering radioactivity. In 1911, she was awarded the Nobel Prize in Chemistry for isolating pure radium.

Learn more about the exhibition here.