Giants of the Ice Age
The exhibition is on display 8.2.2025–6.9.2026
Travel 14,000 years back in time with us
The Giants of the Ice Age-exhibition is set at the end of the last Ice Age (120,000–11,000 years ago). During the Ice Age, nature was dominated by large mammals, such as woolly mammoths, woolly rhinoceroses and saber-toothed cats, with which humans lived side by side. 14,000 years ago, modern humans had already inhabited all the continents.
The exhibition is divided into four geographical areas, Finland, Europe and Eurasia, North America and South America. The exhibition shows what the nature of the last Ice Age looked like in different parts of the world, and what kind of animal species lived in different areas.
Almost twenty life-size animal robots await the visitor at the exhibition - including a mammoth and a saber-toothed cat!
What should nature look like?
The current state of nature is exceptional by the standards of Earth's history. The exhibition tells about what nature should look like, and how the combination of human activity and climate change can cause great damage.
80% of megafauna, i.e. animals weighing more than 44 kg, became extinct at the end of the last Ice Age. All current animal species are therefore survivors. Today, humans better understand their impact on the survival of both their own species and other species. Thus, a person is able to act in a more sustainable way if he or she wants to.
The exhibition is a story about the diversity of nature, as well as the possibility of influencing its permanence through your own actions.
Exhibition-related learning materials
Make the most of the Ice Age giants and explore the exhibitions' thematic learning materials. From early years to secondary school students, you'll find fun and engaging activities to do. Some of the learning materials are designed so that no visit to Heureka is required to use them. The materials are available only in Finnish and have been designed to fit in with the curricula of the different grades.
Early childhood education, grades 1-2 & 3-6: Colouring pictures related to the Ice Age giants
Grades 1-2 & 3-6: A day in the Ice Age - a multidisciplinary learning unit
Grades 3-6, 7-9 & 2nd grade: Observations of the Ice Age giants
2nd grade: Calculate your carbon footprint
