The exhibition is dedicated to the fossils of large mammals, mollusks, and plants that illustrate the history of paleontology and are precious witnesses of the Earth's past.
Of great impact are the skeletons of large proboscideans, including a long-tusked and stocky-bodied mastodon, and a large, four-meter-tall adult elephant. There are also skeletons of a cavern lion, a leopard, a saber-toothed tiger who lived millions of years ago in Tuscany when the area was a savannah. Visitors can also admire skeletons of sirenians, large ancient herbivorous aquatic mammals, distant relatives of the elephants, and progenitors of the Dugongidae and the Lamantines still present in the Atlantic and the Indian Ocean. The exhibition wraps up with the modern Sala della balena (the Whale Room), an immersive space in which the visitor can walk "on the bottom of the sea", next to the 10-metre long skeleton of a Balenopteridae lived three million years ago and today exhibited with the remains of the animals that have fed on the carcass, from the great sharks to the very small bone-eater worms.
Museo di Storia Naturale dell'Università di Firenze - Geologia e Paleontologia
Via Giorgio la Pira, 4, 50121 Firenze FI, Italia
The entire collection is exhibited on one level, without any barriers.
At the entrance of the museum people will find an Infopoint and an elevator accessible to wheelchairs. People having special needs are kindly suggested to get in touch with the customer care office (Servizi Didattico-Divulgativi) before visiting. Disabled toilets are located before the exhibition.
The museum offers a tactile path for people with visual disabilities: it is in the mammal fossils gallery. A specific file can be requested at the entrance to make easier finding the touchable objects, reading the explanations in Braille/ high readability letters. Moreover, fossils reproductions through 3D prints are available and specific guided tours are recommended. (Reservations at +39 055 2756444 educational service).
This museum belongs to the network Musei Welcome Firenze who organises guided tours, workshops and meetings for all types of publics all year round (such as Tactum and Arti e Scienze).
