About the Museum

Visit the Kon-Tiki Museum and see the famous vessels used by Norwegian explorer Thor Heyerdahl in some of the great sea voyages in modern history. The main exhibitions even have their own storylines for children.

About the museum

Following the world-renowned, sensational Kon-Tiki expedition of 1947, the Kon-Tiki Museum was established in Oslo. Everyone wanted to see the primitive Kon-Tiki raft constructed after ancient models, and nearly 20 million people have visited the museum since it opened its doors in 1950. Come explore Thor Heyerdahl’s famous legacy, from heeding an insatiable curiosity and challenging established truths, to championing environmental issues and sustainability, striving for world peace and promoting deep respect for the indigenous peoples of the world. Thor Heyerdahl was a resolute and fascinating man who fulfilled his dreams of exploring the world and actually living the science.

The museum’s exhibitions, accompanied by informative texts in many languages, present the breadth of Heyerdahl’s life’s work, from his first trip to Fatu Hiva, to the voyages with the Kon-Tiki, the Ra, the Ra II and the Tigris, as well as the expeditions to the Galàpagos Islands, Easter Island (Rapa Nui) and Tùcume in Peru.

Visitors to the museum can also experience models of sharks and fish in an underwater exhibition under the Kon-Tiki raft, wander a 30-metre-long replica of a cave on Easter Island, see Heyerdahl’s vast personal library of books, and from a biographical exhibition, learn more about the person Thor Heyerdahl was.

In addition, the Kon-Tiki and Ra exhibitions include stories, featuring Johannes the Crab and Safi the Monkey, especially designed to engage the museum’s youngest visitors. And for those interested in Tiki pop culture, there is a small Tiki-themed exhibition as well as Tiki merchandise available in our museum shop.

The Academy Award-winning documentary film Kon-Tiki from 1950 is screened daily at 12:00 in the museum cinema.

For a 3D-tour of the museum, click here.

Visit

The Kon-Tiki Museum is located on the Bygdøy Peninsula in Oslo. Via public transportation, it can be reached by the No. 30 bus year year-round, and by the ferry to Bygdøynes in the summer season.

Opening hours, Monday to Sunday

November–April 10:00–17:00
May 10:00–18:00
June–August 09:30–18:00
September–October 10:00–17:00

The Kon-Tiki Museum is open every day of the week, year-round.

“One can’t buy a ticket to paradise. You have to find it within yourself.” – Thor Heyerdahl

Tickets

Adults 140,–
Children (ages 6-17) 50,–
Families (2+5) 300,–
Groups (10+ people) 100,– p.p.
Seniors 100,-
Students 50,–
School groups Free entrance
Tours, school, 10-11 (max. 30) 600,-
Tours, school, 11-16 (max. 30) 750,-
Tours, general E-mail us: shop@kon-tiki.no

We also sell joint tickets for entrance to two or more of the museums at Bygdøynes: The Kon-Tiki Museum, The Fram Museum and The Norwegian Maritime Museum. We recommend buying joint tickets if planning to visit more than one of the museums. Joint tickets are sold at all three museums and provide a 10% discount on admissions.

Kon-Tiki Museum and Fram Museum

Adults 250,–
Seniors 180,–
Students 90,–
Children 90,–
Families 540,–

Kon-Tiki Museum and Norwegian Maritime Museum

Adults 250,–
Seniors 180,–
Students 90,–
Children 90,–
Families 540,–

Kon-Tiki Museum, Fram Museum and Norwegian Maritime Museum

Adults 380,–
Seniors 270,–
Students 140,–
Children 140,–
Families 810,–

School visits

The museum welcomes school classes with teachers. Entrance fee NOK 50 pr. person. We also offer guided tours for up to 30 students for NOK 750. Booking requests can be made via email and should include the preferred date and time for the tour, name of school, number of students and adults, background information for the visit, contact person and invoice address.

Guided tours

Guided tours of the museum for all other groups, during or outside normal opening hours, depends on availability. Please inquire via email for booking of tours by museum staff.

Travel operators with groups visiting the museum during opening hours who are interested in a guided tour may also contact  Oslo Guideservice  or Oslo Guidebureau.

Events

The Kon-Tiki Museum offers tailored arrangements for special occasions. Whether a formal conference or casual gathering of friends, the story of world-famous explorer Thor Heyerdahl, the Kon-Tiki and the Ra II can be an interesting and exotic backdrop for a corporate or private event. We can provide tours in Norwegian or English, light refreshments or full catering for an unforgettable evening. Contact us for more information.

Frequently asked questions (FAQ’s)

  • Q: How long does a tour in the museum take?

    A: The time spent in the museum depends on how interested you are as a guest, but we recommend around 1 hour.

  • Q: Can we visit the museum free of cost wih an Oslo Pass?

    A: Yes, The Oslo Pass must be registered at the counter at arrival and you are free to enter the museum!

  • Q: Is it allowed to bring dogs into the museum?

    A: Due to allergies of other guest, unfortunately dogs are not allowed in the museum.

  • Q: I am a visually handicap person, I have my international disability card, is there any kind of discount for a visit?

    A: With your disability card you and your companion are welcome to enter the museum without any cost.

  • Q: We are going to visit Oslo with our group. Do we have to make an reservation?

    A: No, reservations are not necessary unless you want to book a guided tour.

  • Q: Do you have a discount for groups?

    A: Groups of minimum 10 persons has a reduced price of NOK 100 pr. person.

  • Q: We have our own a special guide. Can he/she show us around?

    A: You are welcome to have your own guide showing around the museum.

The Kon-Tiki Museum Board

Board members

  • Merete Haugli, Chairwoman of the Board
  • Strategic advisor.

 

  • Olav Heyerdahl
  • Representative of the Heyerdahl family.

 

  • Mads Ravn
  • Head of Research, The Vejle Museums, Denmark.

 

  • Anisa Solvang
  • Board member, management for hire/ mentor.

 

  • Magnus H. Brandsæter
  • Head of Operations and Security, The Kon-Tiki Museum

Left to right: Magnus Hovhaugholen Brandsæter; Liv Heyerdahl, Anisa Solvang, Cato Schiøtz, and Mads Ravn.

The Kon-Tiki Museum Scientific Advisory Board

The Kon-Tiki Museum. Thor Heyerdahl’s Research Foundation is a private museum, archive, and research foundation. It preserves, documents and research Thor Heyerdahl’s life and work, and in addition it undertakes and funds research connected to Thor Heyerdahl’s research interests with a particular focus on Pacific communities, history, and prehistory.

This work relies on the support of a Scientific Advisory Board aimed at helping developing the museum, preserving its collections, and work to becoming a research institution of international standing.

Professor Eske Willerlev

Eske Willerslev is the Prince Philip Professor of Ecology & Evolution, Department of Zoology, University of Cambridge, and he is Director of Centre of Excellence in GeoGenetics, University of Copenhagen, Denmark.

He is a true adventurous scientist, internationally known for sequencing the first ancient human genome, and has conducted human population genomic studies across the world. Willerslev established the field of environmental DNA, in which modern and ancient DNA from higher plants and animals are obtained directly from environmental samples.

Professor and adventurous scientist Eske Willerslev

Professor Kristian Kristiansen

Kristian Kristiansen, professor at the University of Gothenburg, is one of the leading archaeologists in Scandinavia. He is best known for his contributions to the study of the European Bronze Age, long-distance trade networks and migration in prehistory. Kristiansen has also been highly influential in developing theoretical frameworks in archaeology.

Kristiansen initiated the founding of the European Association of Archaeologists in 1994, and served as its first president until 1998. He was also the founding editor the European Journal of Archaeology. He has held visiting professorships at the Sorbonne, Stanford University, the University of Cambridge and the University of Oxford.

Professor Kristian Kristiansen.

Professor Ingjerd Hoëm

Ingjerd Hoëm is a professor at the Department of Social Anthropology, and vice dean for education at the Faculty of Social Sciences at the University of Oslo.

Her research interests are ritual communication, identification of space, linguistic anthropology, social organization and fourth world populations (indigenous people), with a geographical focus on Polynesia. Hoëm have done fieldwork in Tokelau, Samoa, New Zealand and on the Solomon islands.

Hoëm was head of the Department of Social Anthropology from 2010-2015, and responsible for the PhD-programme at the Department of Social Anthropology from 2008 and 2009. She was Head of Research, Institute of Pacific Archaeology and Cultural History, at the Kon-Tiki Museum from 2001 to 2007. Professor Hoëm was Chair Woman of the Board at the museum until 2020.

Professor Ingjerd Hoëm.

Staff

  • Liv Hukset Wang
  • Head of communications and marketing
  • (+47) 913 27 7 87
  • l.wang@kon-tiki.no

 

  • Monica Fjeld
  • Head of Merchandising and Production
  • (+47)919 15 228
  • m.fjeld@kon-tiki.no