Lecture tour in Vesterålen
Published 30 September 2026
Liv Helene Willumsen and Gøril Karlsen have been on a lecture tour in Vesterålen
25 September 2026
On 17 and 18 September, Museum Nord had the pleasure of arranging Research Square in Otolitten as part of the official opening week of SKREI. Under the theme “cod and trust”, we gathered seven renowned researchers and communicators and invited schools from all over the region to visit. The result was two intensive and inspiring days of learning, experiences, knowledge dissemination, exploration and reflection!
Cod and trust as a recurring theme
The theme of the research square was “cod and trust”. Based on the interdisciplinary dissemination at SKREI, the theme can be interpreted in several directions: Trust in research, trust in the management of marine resources, trust in dissemination and trust in the food on the plate. The aim of the research square was to arouse curiosity and interest in the subject areas we convey among children and young people.
Large participation from the entire region
The students and teachers who visited SKREI were in the 5th? 10th grade and came from 14 schools in different schools in the municipalities of Sortland, Hadsel, Vestvågøy and Vågan. This is the first time SKREI organizes a research square and a school dissemination program for the entire region. We hope it inspires the schools in the region to use us more in the future as well.
From exhibition to research square
As the first part of the visit, the students got to go through SKREI’s new main exhibition, which is called Med Havet. Here they were to visit eight “immersion stations” ? all with a direct connection to the topics at the research square. The purpose was to give the students an introduction and to arouse their curiosity, before they had an hour to explore the research square itself. For many, it was exciting to learn that the researchers who were behind parts of the content of the exhibition were also present with their own dissemination booths.
Meeting with committed researchers, communicators and artists
At the research square, the pupils met solid representatives from an interdisciplinary field who led them through engaging activities and reflection tasks. The activities for each of the stalls were developed on the basis of selected competence objectives in LK20. This gave the pupils the opportunity to work interdisciplinary with topics related to sustainability, critical thinking and social participation.
The Institute of Marine Research (IMR) was strongly represented at the research square. The students had the opportunity to meet the researchers Côme Denechaud, Elena Eriksen and Bjarte Bogstad, who invited them to inspiring activities with their own stalls. At Bogstad, they got an insight into the topic of fishing quotas. An educational and thought-provoking topic, especially for those of the students who have families with a background in the fishing industry. Eriksen was able to give an engaging introduction to the research cruise’s what, how and why through a visual presentation of ecosystems. At Denechaud’s stand, the students got to explore otoliths with the help of a powerful microscope, and see enlarged specimens of otoliths in 3D printing. Here they discovered how the ear stones can provide researchers with valuable knowledge about the life of the fish and the environment in which they have lived. It was especially exciting to have the opportunity to study the source of inspiration for the building we were in!
Local actors
Several local actors from Lofoten also contributed with engaging communication on the square. At the stand of Stockfish from Lofoten, Anne Karine Statle presented about the different quality categories of stockfish, and the students got to try their hand at being wreckers. In this way, they also learned about the PGI label of fish, which is used to signal good food quality. The students got to experience how knowledge, experience and use of the senses form the basis for quality assessment of stockfish. And why trust is a central part of the wrecking profession. At SALT’s booth, Jarle Frivold gave an insight into the topic of marine litter and the danger it poses to marine life. Here, the students got to sort different types of litter and reflect on the question of whether we can trust the fishermen to clean up after themselves.
At a separate art stand, artist Randi Nygård arranged a collage workshop. The starting point for the creative workshop was a number of open questions: How can we use images to explore what humans and skrei have in common? How are we connected through body, senses and living environment? Nygård has, among other things, contributed to SKREI’s exhibition with the multimedia artwork “Separating the fish from water”, which can be seen in the last part of the exhibition.
Among our communicators, we also received an international visit. Journalist and author Jennifer Tornhill Verma had travelled all the way from Canada to share the story of the cod collapse off Newfoundland. In 1992, what is known as the cod moratorium had serious consequences for coastal communities. Verma invited the students to join him for a round of reflection. The questions revolved around trust in connection with how we are dependent on the fisheries, and what Lofoten would look like if the cod disappeared.
Children of a fishing region
At several of the dissemination booths, it became clear that the students recognized themselves in the topics presented. Many of them came from families with ties to the fisheries and the coast. This created great engagement and many questions. Through meetings with scientists, artists and communicators, the students learned that questions about the ocean are not just about nature and resources. But also about trust, cooperation and the knowledge on which we build future decisions.
We hope that the Research Square at SKREI can help inspire a young audience to reflect on the intrinsic value of cod, sustainability and, above all, the future of the sea and coast. And who knows? Maybe we will meet some of the students again as researchers in the laboratory of IMR, as activists in an environmental protection organization, as stockfish wreckers, as investigative journalists or artists sometime in the future?