P A G E 22
Zoological Museum
27.02.2017
On February 27 we visited the museum, which is located in the biology department of the University of Oulu. Due to its geographic location and area of operation, the Museum’ s activities center around northern issues.
At present there are about 50000 vertebrate and about two million invertebrate specimens in the museum. Besides the Museum ' s own collecting activity, authorities and private citizens bring to the Museum wild animals that they have found dead. The material collected in students ' thesis research also becomes part of the Museum ' s collections. The museum forms an integral part of an international network of natural science museums functioning as a repository of knowledge and an expert body on biodiversity-related issues.
Through its public exhibition gallery, the Museum offers a fresh perspective on Finnish fauna and zoology. In the 1000 m 2 gallery there are about 1300 vertebrates and well over 3000 invertebrates. Lining the walls of the gallery, a 53 m diorama illustrates the geographical location of Finland and the country’ s varying natural environments during the changing seasons all the way from the Bay of Finland to the Arctic Ocean. In the glass cabinets and vitrines of the gallery, specimens are arrayed in accordance with their taxonomic relationships. Together with the collection hosted in the reading room, this systematic collection forms a teaching collection, aimed at providing an insight into the identification of species and animal taxonomy. Thus, this collection offers a rich learning environment for schools and kindergartens as well as for anyone with an interest in nature and animals.
The Portuquese team
D I G I T A L M A G A Z I N E