Estonian Museum of Natural History

The principal botanical collection contains approximately 122,000 plant specimens. The vascular plant herbarium includes 90,000 specimens, of which 88,700 are leaves, and the rest fruits, seeds, and strobili. Most of the material was collected in Estonia and the collection contains specimens of a predominant part of the domestic flora - 1,600 taxa. The collection's oldest specimens date back to the 1830s.[5]

The mycological herbarium includes approximately 2,450 plant specimens. The unlichenized fungi collection contains 250 samples. Of the more than 2,200 specimens included in the lichen i.e. lichenized fungi collection, approximately 1,600 were collected in Estonia and 600 from abroad (mainly Scandinavia and other parts of Europe).[6]

The zoological collections contains approximately 130,000 specimens. The collections boast a wide selection of both vertebrate and invertebrate species from Estonia as well as other parts of the world.

The zoological collections include:

• The ornithological collections
• The mammal collection
• The species-rich collection of mollusk shells, corals, and echinoderms
• The wet specimen collection
• The entomological collections[7]

The museum's geological collection holds approximately 3,500 samples. Nearly three fourths of the specimens constitute paleontological material, the oldest specimens of which were collected in the mid-19th century. The dominant part of the paleontological collection is formed by Paleozoic fossils found in the Estonian bedrock. The most numerous samples among the preserved material include fossils of marine invertebrates from the Ordovician and Silurian Periods. The paleontological collections furthermore contain bone fractions and skeletal fragments of mammals of the Quaternary Period, most of which originate from Russia’s northern territories. Lithological collections hold typical sedimentary rocks of the Estonian bedrock: limestone, marl, sandstone, and mudstone. Petrological collections are small, with the main specimens being Estonian glacial erratic samples and samples of metamorphic rocks and igneous rocks collected from the territory of the former Soviet Union. The number of the museum’s mineralogical specimens has increased significantly during the last decade, owing to domestic and foreign donations. While minerals inserted into the collections in previous years mostly come from Russia, Eastern Europe, and Germany, the contemporary collection includes minerals from Australia, South America, and Africa. Some of the most notable mineralogical samples include large quartz, amethyst, and fluoride druses.[8]

The history of science collection has approximately 1,050 archival materials and historical items related to the study and mediation of nature.[9]

The photo collection contains photos, negatives and colour slides, 28,000 items in total, reflecting the daily life, exhibitions, field work and events of the museum throughout time. The photo collection of the museum has been digitised in the biodiversity information system PlutoF under the acronym TAMF.[10]