The new Croatian Natural History Museum designed to match the world’s greatest metropolises
All contents will provide visitors with a unique experience and emotion, making them want to share and recommend the experience, new knowledge and insights into natural history to their family, friends and acquaintances.
The Director of the Croatian Natural History Museum, Prof. Tatjana Vlahović, PhD, and the Museum’s senior curator, Dr. Iva Mihoci, together with SAFU Director Tomislav Petric and Deputy Mayor of Zagreb Dr. Jelena Pavičić Vukičević, presented the project Culture, Science and Education in the Function of Economic Development – the New Croatian Natural History Museum.
The project will enable the complete reconstruction and extension of the Amadeo Palace, the installation of modern presentation and multimedia equipment for presenting a selected collection of more than 2 million objects across an additional 2,600 m² of permanent exhibition space, and a new laboratory equipped with modern technology that will be available to all museum users.
The City of Zagreb is a partner in this project and plans to provide the funds needed to finalize the project, depending on the funds allocated by the European Union.
The total estimated value of the project is 96,545,888 kuna. The preparation of project documentation cost 4,667,500 kuna, of which the Ministry of Regional Development and EU Funds contributed 3,734,000 kuna in grants.
The project is expected to be completed in 2022, when citizens and visitors of Zagreb will have the same opportunity as those in other European metropolises to enjoy a contemporary interpretation of the new exhibition and contents of the Croatian Natural History Museum.
In addition to the restored and revitalized Amadeo Palace, an important historic building of the City of Zagreb, the new contents will allow visitors to travel through time as they pass through the permanent exhibition, enter two time capsules, or memorial rooms, and see a laser display of a DNA molecule, as well as large exhibits such as a dinosaur replica, whale skeletons, the Zagreb whale and a dolphin model.
Educational workshops intended for primary and secondary school students will help spark curiosity about the natural world, while contents for all ages will contribute to natural science literacy, an important tool for understanding the physical and natural world and placing natural history within a social and cultural context.
Access to the museum building and its contents will also be made available to persons with disabilities. An open-air museum, the Tuškanac Natural History Trail, will also be opened, as well as a new entrance to the Museum from Tuškanac.
The opening of a museum catering facility and souvenir shop is also planned. Twelve new employees will also be hired.
Accredited laboratories equipped with the latest technologies will be available to interested users, so that business entities, as well as the scientific and academic community, can directly benefit from the renovation of the Croatian Natural History Museum.
This will enable the transfer of knowledge and new technologies through active cooperation on scientific projects.
All these contents will provide visitors with a unique experience and emotion, making them want to share and recommend the experience, new knowledge and insights into natural history to their family, friends and acquaintances.
It is also a way to strengthen Zagreb’s image as an even more attractive tourist destination, where the new Croatian Natural History Museum enables visitors to discover Croatia’s long-standing natural history tradition and national culture.