Biotopia brings Uppland’s wildlife and landscapes into focus through immersive early twentieth-century dioramas, geological displays and hands-on learning. Opened as Biologiska museet in 1910, it pairs preserved habitat scenes with a modern program rooted in Uppsala’s surrounding nature.
Guide
At Biotopia, a moose, a pool frog and a black grouse appear in settings designed to make you look beyond a specimen label. The museum’s old dioramas place animals inside Uppland landscapes, while sounds, lighting and hands-on activities invite visitors to ask how those landscapes formed. The subject is regional nature, but the building itself carries more than a century of Uppsala’s public science.
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UpgradeQuick facts
- Biologiska museet opened on 11 November 1910, the day after its formal inauguration, and was created by naturalist Gustaf Kolthoff.
- The museum closed for renovation from 2004 to 2007; it reopened in October 2007 as Biotopia with its historic dioramas retained and renewed.
- The 1909 donation was offered to Uppsala University first; after it declined, Uppsala city accepted the gift and responsibility for the museum’s upkeep.
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