THE OVERLOOKED BODY
From placentas to crash test dummies
The Steno Museum’s new exhibition, The overlooked body, highlights blind spots in scientific research and encourages reflection.
A groundbreaking new exhibition at the Steno Museum challenges conventional understandings of medical research. It sheds light on a crucial yet often neglected issue: for decades, biological female bodies have been marginalised in medical research. But what does this mean, and how do gender disparities in medical research affect us today?
A highly relevant issue
At the Science Museums, we explore this pressing topic in close collaboration with researchers from Aarhus University and Aarhus University Hospital. The exhibition, based on the latest research, poses key questions such as:
- Why has the male body historically been the medical norm?
- What are the consequences for diagnoses and treatments when other bodies are not considered?
- Which diseases and organs have been overlooked – and what can we do, or are already doing, to change this?
- Why do we not already know more about this?
The exhibition has been co-created with artists, visitors, researchers and, crucially, young people, who will have the opportunity to shape its content through workshops and reflect on their own curious questions. In November, visitors could join Australian artist Rebecca Vandyk-Hamilton in a knitting workshop completing the world’s largest knitted placenta, and workshops for students can now be booked via the Science Museums’ website.
Highlights of the exhibition:
- Crash test dummy installation: Take a seat next to a 3D-printed dummy and reflect on how women’s safety is overlooked in traffic.
- Contraceptive wall: A striking display of contraception methods – twelve for women and only two for men.
- The world’s largest knitted placenta, a real placenta and a testicle: Experience human organs up close. Why is there significantly more research on some organs than others?
- Endometriosis installation: Endometriosis affects up to 10% of women, yet it has only recently been taken seriously. How has this impacted women’s health and lives? Patients share their stories.
- The overlooked placenta: One of the exhibition’s most striking installations is the world’s largest knitted placenta by Australian artist Rebecca Vandyk-Hamilton. It has been co-created with both Australian and Danish knitters. The placenta is an understudied organ – but why do we know so little about this vital organ when it could hold answers to everything from pregnancy complications to diseases in future generations?
A collaboration between researchers and artists
Associate Professor Felicity Mae Davis from Department of Biomedicine at Aarhus University leads the project. With support from the Novo Nordisk Foundation and an interdisciplinary team of researchers and artists, the aim is to bring complex medical research to a broad audience. By integrating art and science, the exhibition creates a sensory experience that allows everyone – regardless of prior knowledge – to engage with the questions it raises.
She explains:
"We are facing a real challenge: why is the male body still the norm in medical research? Endometriosis, women’s pain, and even fundamental discussions around contraception have been overlooked for years. The exhibition The overlooked body gives a voice to what has been ignored and challenges us all to think in new ways."
An exhibition in two phases
The first phase of the exhibition opened on 22 January 2025 and will run until the end of the year. This smaller exhibition features three specific case studies that serve as a foundation for further reflection. Here, students, researchers and artists can meet in a dynamic workshop environment to co-create the content for the larger and final exhibition, which will open in 2026.
In this way, visitors can help shape the next phase of the exhibition and bring their own questions into the discussion.
"This exhibition is being developed alongside the people it is designed for: our visitors, especially primary school and upper secondary education students," says Ella Paldam, Head of Learning and Deputy Director at the Science Museums, Aarhus University. "We believe that co-creation is key to making an exhibition engaging and relevant, where young people feel heard and involved. It’s not just about showcasing research; it’s about creating a space for dialogue and reflection. By involving students in the development process, the exhibition will not only tell the story of the overlooked body but also reflect young people’s perspectives."
Press releases and media coverage (in Danish)
The Science Museums cut the umbilical cord on a new exhibition at the Steno Museum
New exhibition at the Steno Museum features the world’s largest knitted placenta
Project team behind the exhibition:
- Anne Sofie Bomholt Larsen, Project manager & coordinator, Department of Biomedicine
- Felicity Mae Davis, Associate Professor, Department of Biomedicine
- Silke Blair Chalmers, Postdoc, Department of Biomedicine
- Ida Vogel, Clinical Professor, Department of Clinical Medicine
- Nina Rågård, Researcher, Department of Clinical Medicine
- Ulrik Bak Kirk, Project manager, FEMALE, Department of Public Health
- Christine Parsons, Professor, Director of the Interacting Minds Centre
- Morten Arnika Skydsgaard, Curator of Medical History, The Science Museums
- Susanne Sindberg Kirkfeldt, Head of Design & Marketing, The Science Museums
- Ella Paldam, Deputy Director & Head of Learning, The Science Museums
Supported by:
The Novo Nordisk Foundation