International Conference at the National Museum of Denmark, 23-24 March 2026

Throughout human history, people have built physical models to grasp the world, to imagine its possibilities, and to reshape it. From Arctic toys and Melanesian canoes to architectural prototypes and humanoid robots, models have functioned as instruments of the human imagination. They allow us to test ideas, bridge disciplines, and bring the not-yet-real into view.

This international conference marks the culmination of The Power of Modelling, a three-year research and exhibition project led by the National Museum of Denmark with Moesgaard Museum, the Royal Danish Academy, and Aarhus University. Bringing together anthropology, archaeology, architecture, audience studies and cognitive science, the project has explored how physical models transmit and shape technological, social, and cultural knowledge, and how modelling can become a shared language between researchers, museum professionals, artists, and audiences.

Over two days, the conference will bring together scholars, curators, designers, architects, and makers to discuss the generative potential of models in museal, artistic and ethnographic practice. Panels will explore questions of representation and scale, time and imitation, and practice and experimentation, while a keynote lecture will open new perspectives on modelling as both method and medium.

The event invites everyone interested in how museums can engage the imagination and produce knowledge through physical models and modelling from researchers and students to artists, educators, and craftspeople.

• Keynote lecture by Professor of History of Science and Medicine Nick Hopwood, University of Cambridge.

The conference is open to the public.

The conference programme will be uploaded to this website mid-January.

Registration deadline is the 1st of March 2026