Natural History Museum of Crete
Sofokli Venizelou Avenue, Heraklion
The Natural History Museum of Crete in Heraklion is housed since 2007 in the renovated former premises of the Heraklion Public Power Corporation, near the gate Dermatas and was founded in 1980. With an area of 3,500 m2, it is the largest exhibition of its kind in the Mediterranean, showcasing the natural environment of Crete and the wider Mediterranean area in an innovative, original way. Visitors have the opportunity to explore Cretan ecosystems alongside their equivalents in mainland Greece and elsewhere in the Mediterranean via dioramas, i.e. full-scale models of natural landscapes. Other areas are dedicated to exhibits such as the Giant Deinotherium, the largest prehistoric animal ever to live on Crete, the Living Museum, a display of typical animals of Crete and the Mediterranean, the Enceladus- an earthquake simulator where one can experience several earthquakes known to have occurred in different areas in the past, as well as the Erevnotopos Discovery Centre, an area specially designed for our younger visitors, where they can dig for fossils and explore Cretan nature hands-on.
Since 2016 there also three temporary exhibitions; "Dinosaurs extreme", with real-size reconstructions of dinosaurs with extreme characteristics, e.g. the largest, the smallest, the oldest, the fastest and of course the famous T-rex. The second exhibition, "Light Mysteries", is an exhibition which includes aspects of holography and optics, through experiments and illusions. There is also the display “Crete, a continent in an island“, featuring numerous exhibits and micro-dioramas on the biodiversity and geodiversity of Crete.
Qualified personnel can inform you about the exhibits or you can aso have a guided tour.
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