Dublin's Natural History Museum is to shut for a major refurbishment.
The museum on Merrion Place will close its doors in September for a number of years for conservation works to be assessed and carried out.
Affectionately known at the "Dead Zoo", the work is needed to ensure that that the 168 year-old building is protected, conserved, and made accessible for future generations.
In 2020, the museum closed to allow whale skeletons suspended from the roof to be removed and to install an internal platform and environmental seal to protect the dead zoo and its contents.
Since the museum reopened two years ago only the ground floor has been open to the public.
National Museum of Ireland - Natural History aka the Dead Zoo will close to facilitate extensive works required to protect and conserve the 168-year-old ‘Dead Zoo’ for future generations #DeadZooDiary https://t.co/yjoMZ3mjdv pic.twitter.com/zaAwfeIZ36
— National Museum of Ireland (@NMIreland) June 14, 2024
Keeper at the museum, Paolo Viscardi, says the latest refurbishment work will take a number of years.
"We're undertaking a major redevelopment of the building. It's mainly conservation of the building, because we don't plan to change much.
"But what we're really keen to do is to get in lifts and make access possible to all the floors. Also, the environment in the building isn't very good. So the plan is to improve that by just basically having a more sustainable, better structured building".
A new "Dead Zoo Lab" is to open at the National Museum of Ireland Collins Barracks during the closure.
