This elephant welcomes the visitor in the lobby.
Grandchild & his parents were on holiday, so we did sightseeing in Helsinki.
Lapsenlapsi vanhempineen oli lomalla ja katseltiin paljonkin pääkaupunkia.
Natural History Museum - LUOMUS is located in Etu-Töölö, very near to the center of Helsinki.
The decorative building of neobaroque used to be a Russian boy's gymnasium in 1913-1917
when we belonged to Russia as Grand Duchy of Finland.
Neobaroque style was uncommon for turn-of-the-century Russian constructions
and is rare in Helsinki. Perhaps it was for this reason, that the building was preserved
during the tumultuous early years of our independence, unlike many other buildings
that were reminiscent of Russian rule.
In 2005 the entire museum building was emptied and closed from the public
for nearly three years. The basis of the complete renovation was to conserve the building
and “to peel out” the original flamboyance of the premises. I have not visited the museum
after the renovation, so my astonishment was great. Luomus is fantastic and
an endless source of information! The museum was filled with families, and indeed,
it offers kids a near perspective to the nature and also an insight to climate change
& what to do to prevent it.
Skeletons, stuffed animals, large showcases where animals
are in their natural environment... Knowledge about climate change, birds,
mammals, insects, prehistoric animals ... You name it!
EPILOGUE
You have traveled with this exhibition for billions of years from the wonderful starters
of life to today's Finnish landscape. You have seen brief glimpses of incredible strides
in the history of life that have been filled with shocking upheavals,
constant change and unexpected twists.
The whole globe and its diverse life is full of memories of the past.
Life history research constantly adds new, more accurate information about life's development
and changes on the planet. In the light of new information,
old results and perceptions are always reassessed - science checks and corrects itself.
