Museums and centres of science and art around Southwest Finland offer plunges into history and contemporary art.

Museums

The best-known historical sight in Southwest Finland is probably the Turku Castle. You can almost hear the clanking of armours and the rustling of skirts of young ladies of the castle while walking in its corridors. A modern and experimental Museum of History is also being planned at the heart of Turku. A place to visit for the whole family, it will change our ideas on what a museum can be: a dive into the past and reach into the future.

Located in Loimaa, Sarka – the Finnish Museum of Agriculture takes the visitors on a trip to the history of farming in Finland. The exhibitions of Sarka show what plants were cultivated 3,000 years ago and how agricultural machinery has developed. Pearls of peasant culture can also be experienced in Laitila. The Kauppila yard museum introduces the peasant culture of Southwest Finland in a genuine 17th century setting. On the Untamala main road there is the Sarkki peasant house from the 18th century. It is now a museum where you can learn about the life in the old days and see peasant items.

Founded in 1888, the Satakunta Museum is a historical museum in Pori city-centre, by the Kokemäenjoki river. A permanent exhibition presents life, phenomena and personalities in Pori and the Satakunta province. Changing exhibitions focus on new and interesting subjects as well as phenomena of local history.

Art museums

Changing art exhibitions are displayed e.g. in the art museums of Turku, Pori, Salo and Rauma. Founded in 1981 around Professor Maire Gullichsen’s collection, the Pori Art Museum is a museum of contemporary art which exhibits the latest trends of Finnish and international art.

The Salo Art Museum is a treasure trove of Southwest Finland. Built in an over 100 years old locomotive shed, the museum displays great Finnish and international art.

Science

What on earth is a paranormal gun? How about freak wave converter? You will find out in the Bonk Museum in Uusikaupunki which tells the story of a little known Bonk Business Inc. founded in Uusikaupunki in 1893. In addition to a company history flavoured with imagination and baloney, you can explore strange inventions and build completely new non-functional devices.

Heureka! That we don’t have, but there are many other places to visit for science enthusiasts. In the Olkiluoto Visitor Centre you can look into the world of electricity and nuclear power and perform different scientific tests. The Visitor Centre arranges science camps for little scientists in the summer.