The Finnish Museum of Natural History (
Finnish: Luonnontieteellinen keskusmuseo,
Swedish: Naturhistoriska centralmuseet), established in 1988, is a research institution under the
University of Helsinki in
Finland, based in
Helsinki, Finland. It is a
natural history museum responsible for the national botanical, zoological, geological and paleontological collections, which consist of samples from around the world. The collections serve scientific, public informational and educational purposes.
In regard to locations and buildings, the museum is divided into three: The
Natural History Museum, the
Kaisaniemi Botanic Garden, and the
Kumpula Botanic Garden. From 1869 to 2014 it also included an independent geological department, but that has now been moved to the Kumpula Botanic Garden.
Research units
Botany Unit
Botanical Museum maintains the national
herbarium of Finland containing 3,3 million specimens of plants, mosses and fungi.
Botanic Gardens maintain a collection of living plants for education and research; is responsible for international seed exchange and public education on plants. In addition, there is a
Sensory garden.[1]
Zoology Unit
Zoological Museum maintains a collection of 8 million animal specimens; performs research mainly on
systematics,
taxonomy, and
zoogeography.
Bird ringing centre and monitoring of bird populations