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Courses
Courses
Choosing a course is one of the most important decisions you'll ever make! View our courses and see what our students and lecturers have to say about the courses you are interested in at the links below.
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University Life
University Life
Each year more than 4,000 choose NUI Galway as their University of choice. Find out what life at NUI Galway is all about here.
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About NUI Galway
About NUI Galway
Since 1845, NUI Galway has been sharing the highest quality teaching and research with Ireland and the world. Find out what makes our University so special – from our distinguished history to the latest news and campus developments.
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Colleges & Schools
Colleges & Schools
NUI Galway has earned international recognition as a research-led university with a commitment to top quality teaching across a range of key areas of expertise.
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Research & Innovation
Research & Innovation
NUI Galway’s vibrant research community take on some of the most pressing challenges of our times.
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Business & Industry
Guiding Breakthrough Research at NUI Galway
We explore and facilitate commercial opportunities for the research community at NUI Galway, as well as facilitating industry partnership.
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Alumni, Friends & Supporters
Alumni, Friends & Supporters
There are over 90,000 NUI Galway graduates Worldwide, connect with us and tap into the online community.
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Community Engagement
Community Engagement
At NUI Galway, we believe that the best learning takes place when you apply what you learn in a real world context. That's why many of our courses include work placements or community projects.
Zoology and Marine Biology Museum
Welcome to our museum!
The newly refurbished Zoology and Marine Biology Museum is housed in the Ryan Institute and officially opened its doors in September 2009. Since then, the museum has attracted huge numbers of visitors, ranging from the general public to school parties to visiting researchers and academics. The museum currently has over 500 specimens on display, representing a broad range of animal groups. Native animals as well as more exotic creatures from further afield are well represented.
One of the highlights of the museum collection are four specimens purchased from the Zoological Society of London in 1855. These consist of three mammal specimens: a grison, a cavy and an azara’s fox; and one bird specimen, a guira cuckoo. All four specimens are native to South America and were collected by Charles Darwin during his trip aboard the Beagle from 1831-1836.
Another special collection housed in the museum consists of over 100 ’Blaschka models’. The father-and-son team of Leopold and Rudolf Blaschka produced beautiful, intricate glass representations of marine animals, originally developed as educational models. They are now considered to be works of art, with a value that makes them irreplaceable.
The Museum collection is used extensively in practical classes for second and third year Zoology students. The material allows the students to examine characteristic features of species and broader taxonomic groupings at first hand. The students’ skills in identifying a variety of specimens are thus enhanced. A form-and-function approach is taken, particularly in the third year, linking in to the comparative ecology and evolution elements of the Zoology course, with students being able to directly compare homologous structures while considering the ecological requirements of the species.
Opening Hours and Contact Details
The museum is open to the public from 9.30 a.m. to 5.00 p.m. from Monday to Friday and admission is free.
Enquiries to: Anne Cryan Tel: 091 492323 or
Eoin MacLoughlin Tel: 091 493640
The location of the museum can be found using the campus map: http://www.nuigalway.ie/campus-map/