Description
‘Step into the war’ is the instruction given to visitors at the Danish War Museum in central Copenhagen, where they are invited to ‘feel the horror and fascination of war’ (Krigsmuseet 2025). Inside the museum there are interactive exhibitions where visitors can ‘try the shackles and feel the whip’ of 18th century sailors, and to attempt to ‘escape the drone’ and ‘fool a real thermal camera’. The gift shop offers the chance to ‘bring home a piece of history’, including ‘toys and war gadgets’. Taking these affective experiences of the museum as the impetus, this paper asks: how are affective imaginaries of war curated in the Danish war Museum? And what role do fun and play have in these curations? Ultimately, it argues that the museum effectively recasts war as a game – something that can be played, tried out, and reenacted with fun. This move strips war of its violence and re-presents it as an affective and formative experience of learning through play.
