Estonian Health Museum conversation cards win top souvenir award

The Estonian Health Museum’s “Stories in Your Back Pocket” conversation cards won first place in Estonia’s 2026 museum souvenir awards, ERR reported. The Estonian Museums Association announced the winners on September 28 at the Estonian National Museum.

The cards are designed to prompt conversations about ageing and help people share personal memories and experiences. They are linked to the exhibition “Goodbye, Youth!” and won a €1,000 prize. The jury praised their original format and professional execution. Created primarily to offer older people companionship, the cards can also help people of any age start and sustain conversations.

The Estonian Open Air Museum’s handmade wooden insect brooches, titled “Uninvited Guests of the Estonian Open Air Museum,” took second place and a €600 prize. The brooches depict wood pests that threaten the museum’s valuable collections, from the silent deathwatch beetle to the house longhorn beetle. The jury highlighted their strong connection to the museum and distinctive execution. They were hand-painted by museum conservator Marike Laht.

Iisaku Parish Museum’s tutiviht received third place and €400. The jury said the souvenir was inventive, closely connected to the museum’s permanent exhibition and likely to appeal to visitors from Estonia and abroad.

Tallinn City Museum’s Legend Chocolate received the Museum Card’s €500 product development award. QR codes on the packaging link to recordings of Tallinn legends in three languages. The jury praised the considered design, the involvement of a designer and the way the product connects a physical souvenir with stories told by the museum.

The jury also recognised Kondas Centre’s handmade board game “Strawberry and Snail,” a letter-writing set featuring historical type symbols from the TYPA print and paper art centre, and washed sheep’s wool from the Maaelu Uudishimukeskus rural life centre. It highlighted the wool as an example of giving existing material a new, practical use.

This year, 23 museums submitted 42 products and product ranges, including badges, handmade jewellery, board games, seed kits and a bread-baking kit. The jury praised the use of museum identities and collection stories, collaboration with local makers and craftspeople, and attention to reuse. It also urged museums to give more thought to product design, packaging and materials, noting that sustainable products should have environmentally friendly packaging.

EMMA is a biennial Estonian museum souvenir competition, organised since 2009 to recognise product development by museums.