Overcoming obstacles is an inevitable part of both scientific work and life in general. This is how David Baker describes a pair of glasses and a broken ski pole: “The orange glasses and the broken ski pole both symbolize overcoming adversity. I had an eye injury several years ago that made it impossible for me to look at computer screens; I was in despair about how to work for a month, when I discovered that the orange glasses solved the problem. I wear them when I give presentations, and so they have almost become part of my persona—I often get as much positive feedback about the glasses as the content of the talks! I am an avid backcountry skier, and I have broken many ski poles in the backcountry and still had to make it back to the starting point, which I obviously have so far—they not only represent overcoming adversity but my love of the mountains where I spend almost every weekend year round.” David Baker donated the glasses and the ski pole to the Nobel Prize Museum in 2024.

The large, red part of the model is the spike protein from the SARS-CoV-2 virus that causes Covid-19. The blue and green parts represent synthetic proteins developed by David Baker and his team. These proteins bind tightly to the spike protein and have proven to prevent the virus from infecting animals. The proteins have not yet undergone the required testing for use on humans. David Baker donated the model to the Nobel Prize Museum in 2024.

This spoon was used by Andrei Sakharov in the 1980s during the time he was banished to Nizhny Novgorod (then called Gorky). Sakharov was a physicist but had been a human rights advocate since the 1960s. He was awarded the Nobel Peace Prize in 1975 for his efforts. The Soviet authorities prevented him from going to the award ceremony. To hamper his work, he was exiled to Nizhny Novgorod in 1980. The apartment where he lived was under constant surveillance from across the street. Apart from visits from his wife, Yelena Bonner, he lived alone for long periods, cooking for himself. This traditional Russian wooden spoon was a utensil he used daily during his exile, for instance when he fried food in a Teflon pan, so as not to scratch it. One dish he liked to make was a kind of curd that he fried lightly, because he preferred hot food. He also used the spoon to make scrambled eggs. The spoon was donated to the Nobel Prize Museum by the Andrei Sakharov Foundation in 2025.

This glass holder was used by Andrei Sakharov in the 1950s and 1960s when he drank tea. The traditional Russian way of drinking tea was in a glass in a metal holder to avoid burning one's fingers. Tea was an essential part of Sakharov's daily life as a physicist and peace and human rights activist. A glass of tea had a given place on his desk. He used this glass holder at home in Moscow and may even have brought it with him during his frequent visits to Sarov (then called Arzamax-16) where he worked on the Soviet nuclear arms programme. The glass holder was donated to the Nobel Prize Museum by the Andrei Sakharov Foundation in 2025.

This slide rule was used frequently by Andrei Sakharov when he worked as a physicist. Sakharov has contributed significantly to basic research in physics and the development of nuclear energy and nuclear weapons. He played a key role in the Soviet hydrogen bomb project. Beginning in the late 1950s, he expressed his concern over nuclear weapons and worked to limit their proliferation. Later on in life, he was also active as a human rights advocate. The slide rule was donated to the Nobel Prize Museum by the Andrei Sakharov Foundation in 2025.

Ragnar Granit compiled this collection of his scientific publications for his father. The Granit family were Swedish-speaking Finns. Ragnar Granit began his career as a researcher in Helsinki, before moving to Stockholm in 1940, where he became a professor at Karolinska Institutet. The scientific publications cover his work in sensory and neurophysiology. The collection of scientific publications was donated to the Nobel Prize Museum by Ragnar Granit's family in 2024.

The float and net needle belonged to Ragnar Granit, who enjoyed fishing alongside his research into sensory mechanisms and neurophysiology. The initials RG on the net needle were engraved by Granit himself. The equipment is from the Granit family's summer cottage on the island of Korppoo outside Turku in Finland. Ragnar Granit spent many summers there, cleaning seaweed from the nets. His research colleagues who came to visit him from all over the world also helped out. The float and net needle was donated to the Nobel Prize Museum by Ragnar Granit's family in 2024.

After Alfred Nobel's death, a cast of his face was made: a death mask. In the late 1800’s, death masks were often made of famous persons after they had died.