Ancient DNA can be used to study large-scale phenomena, such as the movement and mixing of populations over millennia, but it can also detect very personal things about individuals. Ancient DNA studies also tell us about the evolution of animals and plants, and how humans have influenced their environment.

While the exhibition provides hard research data, the aim is also to appeal to those for whom DNA research is a whole new world.

Visitors to the exhibition can listen to historical languages (which genes do not tell about) or smell floral fragrance, the perception of which is influenced by genes. In the laboratory, visitors can step into the role of a scientist for a moment and put on a white coat before exploring the materials from which ancient DNA research can be carried out. Through facial reconstructions, visitors can meet the people of the past face to face. Digital displays enable visitors to gain deeper insights into the lives of individuals whose graves were studied for the exhibition. These screens reveal personal details, such as dairy tolerance, kinship relationships, physical appearance, and genetic predispositions. The exhibition also includes newly created costume reconstructions based on archaeological finds from Crusade-period graves in the Tampere region.