Stories from Ikikallio

Did you know that a mammoth once roamed Vuosaari too? This exhibition for the whole family provides a glimpse into prehistoric times. I am a little rock. Today, I am known as the Stenkulla rock, but I have also had many other names. I have been here for a long time. I have seen many peoples and heard many languages. I have been observing people and their lives: sorrow, joy, hate and love. I have seen how nature and animals have changed. Now I want to tell you about all the things that I have experienced. The story of Ikikallio – the Ever-Rock – begins over 100,000 years ago, at a time when mammoths and the hunters who tracked them roamed the Vuosaari area. Over the course of millennia, the rock has had time to witness the activities of many different human tribes and the changes taking place in the environment. In this exhibition, designed on a child-friendly scale, you can immerse yourself in one era and atmosphere after another. Eventually, you will find yourself in the present day, where the land still holds fragments of the past. Even the Vuosaari mammoth has left behind an enormous ulna, or elbow bone. The exhibition has been produced in plain Finnish based on the picture book Ikikallion tarinoita – mammuteista meidän aikaamme. The story was written by archaeologist Andreas Koivisto, and the illustrations were created by artist Tom Björklund, who specialises in prehistory. Held originally in Vantaa City Museum, the exhibition has been adapted to suit the Vuosaari House gallery space.