Julie Wouwenaar Tovgaard Science communication: What is a stem cell?
Explaining complex science can be a challenge—especially when the subject, such as stem cells, exists at a level we cannot see with the naked eye. Here, animation can be a powerful tool. Animation can make abstract knowledge more tangible by visualising processes, movements, and possibilities that are otherwise difficult to imagine.
In a new animation at Medical Museion about stem cells, designers and researchers started from a simple metaphor: an image of a cell as a ball of clay – malleable but still resistant; full of potential but demanding careful handling. The metaphor makes it possible to communicate this invisible biology in a sensory and intuitive way.
Animation also allows room for play and curiosity. A poetic narrative can engage audiences emotionally and spark a desire to learn more. At the same time, visual storytelling can make knowledge easier to remember, since images and stories are often recalled more readily than explanations alone.
The animation was created through a collaboration between an animator, exhibition designers, curators, and stem cell scientists. This meeting between art, design, and science is essential to effective science communication. When different disciplines work together, complex research fields can be translated into experiences that are both scientifically accurate and easier to approach.
Watch the film and see whether the animation makes it easier to understand what a stem cell actually is.
Exhibition about stem cells
Right now, you can experience an exhibition about stem cells at the Medical Museion and Politikens Forhal.
Medical Museion: March 27 – December 20, 2026
Politiken Forhal: March 27 – August 12, 2026
Read more about the exhibition Liquid Bodies Stem cells – Medicinsk Museion
Credits
Animation and sound design: Rasmus Yde Søndergaard
Idea and concept: Petruska Miehe-Renard, Mia Frykholm
Manuscript and research: Louise Whiteley, Ingrid Tsang, Megan Munsie
Exhibition Curator: Pernille Lystlund Matzen
Additional scientific inputs: Mette Jørgensen, Ana Hidalgo-Simon, Kim Jensen, Tine Friis, reNEW University of Copenhagen.
The animation is part of the exhibition Liquid Bodies – Stem cells and new biotechnologies. The exhibition is curated by Medical Museion and involves collaborations between artists, curators, and researchers at the Novo Nordisk Foundation Center for Stem Cell Medicine, reNEW. reNEW is an international consortium based at the University of Copenhagen in Denmark, Melbourne Children’s Research Institute in Australia, and Leiden University Medical Center in the Netherlands. This exhibition is part of an international project titled Hope Springs Eternal, anchored in reNEW’s social science research group (PREPARE), and will be followed by locally curated exhibits at Science Gallery in Melbourne and Rijksmuseum Boerhaave in Leiden.
