Folk Zoological Museum of Ivan Franko National University of Lviv
The museum is one of the oldest museums in Europe. Founded in 1784 as a cabinet of natural history, in 1885 it acquired the status of the Zoological Museum by order of the rector. The museum's collection includes more than 180 thousand exhibits, 10 thousand of which form the exposition. The museum has four halls with a total area of 469.4 m2. The collection is of exceptional importance for science and cannot be reproduced in case of loss or destruction. They are important sources of research on environmental change. It is practically the only form of material evidence of changes in animal ranges.
In 2003, the museum's background information was included in the 9th edition of the World Museums Directory. In 2013, the museum was included in the Global Register of Biological Repositories. The museum organizes excursions for students and staff of the university, as well as for visitors of the city and guests of the state. Every year, about 7 thousand people take part in the excursions.
The museum's expositions are used in small workshops on invertebrate and vertebrate zoology, and the museum's exposition is also used for classes of pupils of secondary schools and other educational institutions of Ukraine. The collections are used by Lviv students to prepare for biology competitions, and the youngest visitors are children from the city's kindergartens. The collection of invertebrates includes mollusks, corals, sponges brought from Lake Baikal, the Amur, the Mediterranean and the Adriatic Seas. There is also a huge number of bird species from all continents of the world. In the mammal department you can see a huge skeleton of a prehistoric animal. Tours of the museum are free of charge, but you need to sign up in advance.
The museum is open on Monday, Tuesday, Thursday, Friday from 10:00 to 16:00.
