The EstonianMuseum of Natural History is the Estonian national museum for natural history. It is situated in Tallinn's Old Town. The museum focuses on natural history and nature education, offering its visitors a tour in the wilderness of Estonia. The exhibition space consists of permanent exhibition and temporary showcases.
History
The foundation of the Estonian Museum of Natural History was laid by naturalists of the 19th century. The history of the museum goes back to an earlier museum, that of the Estonian Literary Society which was founded in 1842. This museum was active in exploring the natural sciences, an area that increased in significance at the museum in 1872 when Alexander von der Pahlen began to contribute to the collection. Pahlen was later elected chairman and under his leadership the collection continued to grow. It soon became apparent that a separate museum for natural history was needed. The collection was kept and displayed in a temporary building until 1911 when a building was purchased in Kohtu Street in Tallinn. The new Provincial Museum exhibited the art and natural sciences collection of the entire province of Harjumaa. The collection was under threat of damage during the First World War so it was moved to Russia for safe keeping and returned when the war ended. The Provincial Museum continued to operate under the Arts and Heritage Department of the Minister of Education and Research but changed its name back to The Estonian Literary Society in 1926. After the Molotov–Ribbentrop Pact, Baltic-German institutions, including the Estonian Literary Society, were closed. In 1940, through the Regulation of the Council of People’s Commissars of the Estonian SSR, the Soviet authorities nationalized all museums allowing for a National Museum of Natural History to be established in Tallinn on January 1, 1941.
Collection
The collections of the Estonian Museum of Natural History contain nearly 300 000 museum specimens. Approximately 90% of the plant, beetle, butterfly and moth, bird and mammal species found in Estonia are represented in the collections. A highly valuable part of the collections is made up by type specimens – the specimens used to provide the first description of a new taxon and serving as a definitive example of that taxon.
Botanical
The principal botanical collection contains approximately 108,000 plant specimens. The vascular plant herbarium includes 79,000 specimens, of which 77,000 are leaves, and the rest fruits, seeds, and strobili. Most of the material was collected in Estonia, and the collection contains specimens of a predominant part of the domestic flora - 1,600 taxa.
Mycological collections
The mycological herbarium includes approximately 2,450 plant specimens. The unlichenized fungi collection contains 250 samples. Of the more than 2,200 specimens included in the lichen i.e. lichenized fungi collection, approximately 1,600 were collected in Estonia and 600 from abroad.
Zoological
The zoological collections of the Museum of Natural History contain approximately 130,000 specimens. The collections boast a wide selection of both vertebrate and invertebrate species from Estonia as well as other parts of the world. The zoological collections include:
The geological collection of the Museum of Natural History holds approximately 3,500 samples. Nearly three fourths of the specimens constitute paleontological material, the oldest specimens of which were collected in the mid-19th century. The dominant part of the paleontological collection is formed by Paleozoic fossils found in the Estonian bedrock. The most numerous samples among the preserved material include fossils of marine invertebrates from the Ordovician and Silurian Periods. The paleontological collections furthermore contain bone fractions and skeletal fragments of mammals of the Quaternary Period, most of which originate from Russia’s northern territories. Lithological collections hold typical sedimentary rocks of the Estonian bedrock: limestone, marl, sandstone, and mudstone. Petrological collections are small, with the main specimens being Estonian glacial erratic samples and samples of metamorphic rocks and igneous rocks collected from the territory of the former Soviet Union. The number of the Museum’s mineralogical specimens has increased significantly during the last decade, owing to domestic and foreign donations. While minerals inserted into the collections in previous years mostly come from Russia, Eastern Europe, and Germany, the contemporary collection includes minerals from Australia, South America, and Africa. Some of the most notable mineralogical samples include large quartz, amethyst, and fluoride druses.
The history of science collection with approximately 1 050 specimens comprises archival materials and historical items pertaining to the study and mediation of nature.
Photo collection
The photo collection contains photos, negatives and colour slides, 28 000 specimens in total, reflecting the daily life, exhibitions, field work and events of the museum throughout time. The photo collection of the museum has been digitised in under the acronym TAMF.
Exhibits
Tempos and Rhythms: From heartbeat to cosmic cycles
