By sea

The exhibition focuses on the interaction between humans and the sea, emphasizing nature, resources, technology, and imagination. Drawing from the museum's rich boat collection, the museum looks back while also posing questions and highlighting upcoming challenges in the management of fish, climate, oceans, environment, and pollution.

On the ground floor, the exhibition showcases the life of the Norwegian coastal population in the 1800s. On the mezzanines, we present an archaeological exhibition about ships and maritime activities in the Oslo harbor in the 1600s, featuring boat findings and other artifacts from the major excavations that have taken place in Bjørvika in Oslo over the past decade.

At the heart of the exhibition are 13 traditional boats from the 19th century. The museums boat collection is Norway's most important nationwide collection of open traditional boats.  The focus of the collection dates from the second half of the 19th century to the beginning of the 20th century. The entire coast is represented, so the main division between the building styles in Eastern, Western, and Northern Norway is clear. The core of the collection was acquired by Bernhard Færøyvik.

Various uses and local adaptations have manifested themselves in building styles as a variety of boatbuilding traditions or dialects. The collection possesses strong aesthetic qualities, and the boats are magnificent examples of craftsmanship traditions. 

The Boat hall was the Norwegian Maritime Museum's first building and exhibition hall at Bygdøynes. In 1958, it opened with traditional boats from all over the coast and exhibitions on Norwegian shipping during the sailing ship era.

The boat hall and the museum's main building were designed by Trond Eliassen & Birger Lambertz-Nilssen. The hall repeats the Fram Museum's (1936) boat shape, but on a smaller scale. The hall has approx. 736 m2 exhibition area on the ground floor and 150 m2 on the mezzanine.