Estonian Natural History Museum moves 360,000 specimens to new building

The Estonian Natural History Museum is moving 360,000 specimens to a new building as its current museum in Tallinn’s Old Town prepares to close in about two weeks, ERR reports. The new building will open in stages, with a temporary exhibition planned for next year and a permanent exhibition for 2028.

The collection includes fossils, taxidermy, herbaria and insects. Some items will go into storage because there is not enough room to display everything.

Staff are packing fragile objects carefully for the move. Karin Truuver, senior curator of the museum’s geology collection, said some exhibits need conservation because they are starting to crumble. She said she would avoid handling the most delicate pieces too much before the move and would work on them once they reach the new building.

In the old building’s basement, replica makers are producing models of items that cannot all be displayed as originals. Moulds can dry out and turn white, and may also attract pests, replica artist Ekke Västrik said. He has made a model of a water flea, while artist Mari-Liis Aimla is making a clay model of a water lily rhizome.

The museum also expects to earn more of its own income in its larger premises. Creative director Ulla Villem said generating revenue had always been a goal, but would become a more significant part of the museum’s work as it grew from a small Old Town museum into a larger institution.