Location
The current home of the Estonian Museum of Natural History is a nearly 150-year-old building in Tallinn’s Old Town at Lai 29a. When viewed from the street, the museum building is located in an inner courtyard, accessible through a passageway. Entering the courtyard, the museum building stands directly opposite the archway. There is a single entrance, reached via a two-step staircase from the courtyard.
As the building was historically constructed as a residential house, it places significant limitations on the accessibility of a modern museum.
For visitors using wheelchairs or strollers
Inside the museum, the three exhibition floors are accessible only via narrow stairs – the building has no lift or platform lift. Moving between floors with a wheelchair or stroller is therefore not possible. Strollers may be left in the courtyard.
For visitors with visual impairments
Inside the museum, the three exhibition floors are connected only by narrow stairs, and there are no guiding tactile paths for visually impaired visitors. Using your own smart device, you can listen to the museum’s online audio guide.
For a better experience, we recommend that visually impaired visitors come with a companion. Admission is free for visitors with severe or profound disabilities upon proof of eligibility, as well as for their companion. Trained guide dogs are welcome.
For visitors with hearing impairments
The museum’s video exhibits do not include sign-language translations, and there is no induction loop system available.
For visitors with intellectual disabilities
In addition to independent visits or visits with a companion, we offer the option to book a special group visit for visitors with intellectual disabilities. Our museum educators tailor the programme to the group’s interests and needs. To ensure the best experience, we recommend making a group booking by writing to @email.
In the plans for the museum’s new building, special attention will be given to improving accessibility and supporting the museum experience of visitors with different types of disabilities. More information can be found below.
Museum Courtyard
Signs on the street point towards the museum located in the inner courtyard and guide visitors through a lush “urban jungle” garden into the museum.
The courtyard and the outdoor exhibition of selected plant communities are accessible for wheelchair and stroller users. The courtyard is open during museum opening hours for free access and leisure. Benches placed between the raised beds invite visitors to rest and relax.
In cooperation with the Estonian Association of Assistance and Therapy Dogs and Tallinn University’s School of Natural Sciences and Health, the museum courtyard also hosts a “sensory garden for dogs” – a special event day when visitors may bring their pets to explore interesting scents and textures within the Old Town walls.
Every September, we organise a Mushroom Exhibition in the courtyard, making it much easier for visitors with mobility impairments or wheelchair users to enjoy the museum’s displays than inside the building.
Museum Spaces – Movement Guide and Room Descriptions for Visitors with Visual Impairments
The exhibitions of the Museum of Natural History are located on three floors.
The ticket desk is on the first floor, directly opposite the entrance. A self-service cloakroom is in the same room to the right, next to the door. The museum shop is to the left upon entering; items displayed in glass cabinets can be purchased at the ticket desk. Toilets, including an accessible restroom, are also on the first floor past the ticket desk. The accessible restroom includes a changing table and a child-sized toilet pot. Free hygiene products for women and children are available in all restrooms.
Turning right from the ticket desk, a six-step staircase leads to an intermediate floor where, in a short corridor, an aquarium is embedded in the right-hand wall and the museum’s seminar and birthday room is located at the end of the corridor on the right. From the end of the corridor, you can access the temporary exhibition hall directly ahead or to the left.
At the beginning of the intermediate floor, an L-shaped staircase bordered by aquariums – the museum’s “staircase gallery” – leads upward. On the second floor, the first door on the left opens into the geology hall presenting the geological history of Estonia. In the wall opposite the staircase is a display case featuring seasonal highlights from the museum’s collection, and next to it is the entrance to the bog and wetlands exhibition. The staircase gallery continues along the second-floor corridor, one wall of which imitates Estonia’s coastal cliffs. Hanging from the ceiling is a cardboard model of an ancient marine creature, a nautiloid.
The gallery continues up another L-shaped staircase at the end of the corridor, leading to the third floor.
On the third floor, the door on the left leads to the museum’s study classroom. Straight ahead is the forest exhibition hall, and to the right is the audiovisual immersive exhibition “Tuur Maria’s Dream”. Due to its audiovisual design, the room is dim, and caution is advised – a tiered seating structure lines the right-hand wall. Please leave your shoes under the benches at the entrance before entering the exhibition. The corridor on the third floor also hosts a Baltic Sea display.
The visitor route ends on the third floor.
Sensory Features
Visual – texts and light
Both permanent and temporary exhibitions include explanatory texts. Text size and lighting vary depending on the exhibition. The “Maria the Sturgeon’s Dream” hall is dim due to its audiovisual setup. Some interactive screens are also present in the museum.
Auditory – listening
Audio guide
Using your own smart device, you can listen to the museum’s online audio guide. The free guide is available in Estonian, Russian, English, and Finnish. It can be accessed through a web browser on any internet-enabled personal device (phone, tablet, laptop) without downloading anything. Public Wi-Fi is available in the museum. Assistance in starting the audio guide can be requested at the ticket desk.
The audio guide is available for the permanent exhibition, the temporary exhibition, and the annual autumn mushroom exhibition in the courtyard.
Sounds in exhibitions
In addition to the audio guide, ambient sounds – including birdsong – can be heard on all three floors. In the temporary exhibition hall on the first floor, visitors can listen to Fred Jüssi’s reflections through headphones in the relaxation corner. The immersive exhibition “Tuur Maria’s Dream” on the third floor includes continuous sound throughout its 20-minute programme.
Tactile – touchable objects
The permanent exhibition includes objects designed for tactile exploration: various rocks and fossils in the geology hall; wet and dry bog peat, bog iron, and pine cones in the bog exhibition; tree trunks of different native species and a taxidermy bear in the forest-meadow exhibition. Exhibitions include clearly marked indicators showing which objects may be touched and which are for viewing only. Taxidermy, herbarium sheets, and other rare specimens are safely behind glass or rope barriers.
Olfactory – scents
In the bog exhibition, visitors can smell the fragrance of Labrador tea.
Seating
Seating options – including benches and chairs with backrests – are available in the courtyard, foyer, and exhibition rooms.
How to Find Us?
On Foot
From Town Hall Square:
A 5-minute walk. Walk through Saiakang, cross Pikk Street, continue through Börsi passage, and turn right onto Lai Street. The museum at Lai 29a is on the left, in the courtyard.
From Kalamaja/Balti Jaam:
A 10-minute walk. Head toward the Old Town, cross Toompuiestee–Rannamäe Road, turn left, and continue through Tornide väljak park to Suurtüki Street. Turn right, walk between the medieval towers Köismäe and Plate, continue along Suurtüki Street to Lai Street, and turn right. The museum is on the right in the first courtyard.
From the seaside / Old Harbour:
A 15-minute walk. Walk along Kai or Sadama Street and cross Mere Boulevard. Turn right and walk uphill along Rannamäe Road towards the historic Fat Margaret tower. From there, continue along Pikk Street to Tolli Street and turn right. At the end of Tolli Street, turn left onto Lai Street. Walk past St Olaf’s Church and Suurtüki Street; soon you will see a sign on the right directing you to the museum courtyard.
By Car
The museum does not have its own parking area. The nearest car parks are:
Parking on Lai Street in front of the museum is within the Old Town zone (6€/h).
By Public Transport
The museum is easily accessible by public transport. It is a short walk from Balti Station, the Suur Rannavärav tram stop, and the Linnahall and Rannamäe Road bus stops.
From Balti Jaam – approx. 10 min:
- by train;
- trams 1, 2 and 5;
- buses 2, 3, 21, 21B, 41, 41B, 59, 84 and 85.
From Linnahall/Suur Rannavärav – approx. 11 min:
- trams 1, 2 and 5;
- buses 3, 20, 21, 21B, 41, 41B and 73.
From Rannamäe road – approx. 7 min:
- buses 102, 114, 115, 173, 174.
By Bicycle
A spacious bicycle parking area is available in the museum courtyard, with room also for cargo bikes.
Accessibility in the New Museum
In 2027, the museum will open in a renewed form at the Nature House – the largest public wooden building in the Baltic region, opening in Noblessner. The new museum is being designed with a focus on a holistic visitor experience and will be fully accessible for all – everyone has the right and opportunity to engage with, discuss, question, and learn about nature. Exhibitions will be suitable for all age groups and engage multiple senses. The content will be clear, the space easy to navigate, and disabilities will not present barriers to participation. Wayfinding will be logical, with accessible restrooms, plentiful seating, and a parent-child room.
Accessibility planning for the new museum includes physical space design, information design, and service design. We follow a comprehensive life-cycle approach that considers visitors of all ages, including those with disabilities, older adults, parents with small children, and children themselves. Accessibility needs related to mobility, vision, hearing, and intellectual disabilities are all taken into account.
A dedicated children’s exhibition area will also be included, designed with both content and spatial layouts suitable for children, including those with different special needs. Exhibitions will be accessible both on foot and using mobility aids.
Unlike the current museum, the new Nature House complex will also include a restaurant, allowing visitors to dine during their museum visit.
The outdoor areas and landscaping between the buildings will form a crucial part of the Nature House complex, creating a unified environment. The landscape design will experiment with recreating plant communities characteristic of Estonia. This outdoor area will also serve as a space for outdoor learning and will be freely accessible to visitors.