The 20th century exhibition presents independent Finland and its united and international culture.
National Museum’s newest department is an interactive exhibition, where visitors can study the history of Finland and its culture using their hands and heads. It is based on experimentation and personal experience, and the tasks and assignments also point the way to exploring the permanent exhibitions of the museum.
The museum's entrance hall ceiling has ceiling frescoes about the Kalevala , painted by Akseli Gallén-Kallela , which can be seen without an entrance fee. The frescoes, painted in 1928, are based on the frescoes painted by Gallén-Kallela in the Finnish Pavilion of the Paris World Fair in 1900.
The building of the National Museum was designed by architects Herman Gesellius , Armas Lindgren , and Eliel Saarinen . The appearance of the building reflects Finland's medieval churches and castles . The architecture belongs to national romanticism and the interior mainly to jugend . The museum was built from 1905 to 1910 and opened to the public in 1916
