University Museum Collections

The collections of the University Museum consist of collections of Cultural History and Natural History Museum and of the art collection. They are also used in research and education.

Collections of the history of the University of Jyväskylä Photos, items, artefacts and arts - The cultural history collection tells the story of the University

Collections of Natural History Museum The collections contain over 300,000 zoological, botanical and geological specimens, mostly from Central Finland.

Art collections as an inspiration for the community The art displayed on the campuses has enriched the local culture and academic community.

Collections at your disposal Collections are available for students, researchers and public.

The Jyväskylä University Museum collects, studies and exhibits material related to the past and present of the university, along with presenting natural history collections focusing on Central Finland.

The origin of the museum’s collections dates back to the 1860s when the Jyväskylä Teacher Seminary, the first educational institution for primary school teachers in Finland, started to gather a collection for teaching purposes. At the end of the 19th century, architect Yrjö Blomstedt, a lecturer of handicrafts and drawing at the seminary, started to collect historical and contemporary items about people’s life. The ethnographic museum of the Jyväskylä Teacher Seminary was established in 1900. After the Seminary era, the collections passed to the Jyväskylä College of Education.

Already during the Seminary years, collections were made to support the teaching of natural sciences. Some teachers made trips abroad and brought back exotic animal samples. In 1973, the teaching collections of the Department of Biology were named as the natural science collection of the University of Jyväskylä. Today, the Natural History Museum of Central Finland is located on the Harju ridge in Jyväskylä.

On 1 January 2017, the Jyväskylä University Museum and the Jyväskylä University Library merged to form the Open Science Centre.