THE WORLD IN A RUCKSACK. 100 Years of Natural Science Expeditions

The exhibition of the University of Tartu Nature Museum “THE WORLD IN A BACKPACK. 100 years of natural science expeditions” is dedicated to the 100th anniversary of the National University.

The world is worth discovering more than once - these words of Lennart Meri are the motto of the exhibition of the University of Tartu Natural History Museum, which provides an overview of the development trends of Estonian natural science during the last century as seen through scientific expeditions. From the stories selected for the exhibition, we can see how the materials and knowledge gathered during the expeditions form ideas for preserving species richness and the natural environment.

The exhibition focuses on the fields of geology, zoology, botany and mycology, where the material brought from the expeditions is stored in scientific collections for further research.

Historical archive shots and photographs bring to the eyes of the visitors of the exhibition the spirituality of different periods. Several objects brought from the trip have been exhibited, which, in addition to their scientific value, have exciting stories.

The eBiodiversity web application displays the expeditions of Tartu researchers over the past hundred years and the new species discovered during them, along with discovery data. Nearly 900 new species have been discovered by scientists, and their findings show that research has led our scientists on expeditions around the world.

The exhibition can be viewed at the University of Tartu Nature Museum 27.11.2019 - 26.04.2020

The exhibition is part of the National University's 100 events program.

The curators of the exhibition are Inge Kukk and Andro Truuverk, designers Silver Vahtre and Margot Sakson. Multimedia solutions were implemented by Allan Zirk, Marko Peterson and Timo Piirmann. Mare Isakar, Urmas Kõljalg, Kadri Pärtel, Ülle Reier, Villu Soon, Ave Suija, Kai Vellak contributed as experts. The exhibition was curated by Salibar. The completion of the exhibition was supported by the Ministry of Culture and the Estonian Cultural Endowment.