From 18 September, the Estonian Agricultural Museum in Ülenurme will have a new name: the Rural Life Curiosity Centre, or MUHK. We will continue to operate as a museum, but the new name reflects a broader approach. Alongside the history of Estonian rural life and agriculture, we will place a stronger focus on the present and the future, exploring the connections between the past, today’s questions and tomorrow’s possibilities.
For decades, the Estonian Agricultural Museum has collected, preserved and shared the heritage of Estonian rural life and agriculture. This role will not disappear with the old name.
MUHK will continue to preserve and present history, collections, historical objects, machinery, stories and traditional skills. What is changing is the way we use them to tell the story of rural life.
Rural life is not only about the past. It is closely connected to where our food comes from, how land and natural resources are used, what skills we need, how technology is changing our lives and agriculture, and what choices we make for the future. The name Rural Life Curiosity Centre reflects this broader perspective.
According to Kadri Valner, Head of the Estonian Rural Museums Foundation, the museum has long been about more than presenting the past.
“A museum does not only tell stories about the past. It also looks towards the future. In our new exhibition, we talk about everyday questions related to rural life and food security, and we also look ahead to the food of the future. As the Rural Life Curiosity Centre, we will combine the museum’s traditional historical perspective with a stronger focus on the present and the future,” says Valner.
The new name gives direction to the whole centre
MUHK is not the name of one exhibition or one building. It is the new name for the entire former Estonian Agricultural Museum.
The change will gradually influence all activities at the Ülenurme centre, including exhibitions, educational programmes, guided tours, events and experience-based activities.
One of the key principles of MUHK is to explore topics through three perspectives: past, present and future. When looking at a historical object, we do not only ask what it is and how it was once used. We also ask how the same need is met today and what the next step might be in the future.
Making connections is equally important. The aim of MUHK is not simply to give visitors as much information as possible. Instead, we want to help people notice how rural life, nature, food, technology and their own everyday lives are connected.
The museum is not disappearing with the name
The change of name does not mean leaving the history of the Estonian Agricultural Museum behind. On the contrary, this heritage remains the foundation of MUHK.
The museum’s collections and historical environment in Ülenurme will remain. Visitors will still find historical machinery, animals, gardens, permanent and temporary exhibitions, educational programmes and events.
The new approach means that this existing heritage will increasingly be connected with questions about the present and the future.
MUHK will not be fully completed on 18 September. The name change is one of the most visible milestones in a longer process of development, and the new approach will gradually become part of all activities across the centre.
The change has taken place step by step
The transition from the Estonian Agricultural Museum to the Rural Life Curiosity Centre has happened gradually.
During the past six months, the Ülenurme site has used the name MUHK / Estonian Agricultural Museum. From 18 September onwards, the name MUHK (Rural Life Curiosity Centre) will be used.
On the same day, MUHK will open a new permanent exhibition of more than 600 square metres, “Why Do I Need Soil?! From Seed to Harvest, from Harrow to Robot”. The exhibition also brings together the past, present and future.
It takes visitors from the world of soil through agriculture and the journey of food to satellites, robots, artificial intelligence and the food of the future.
The name and structure of the Estonian Rural Museums Foundation will not change. The foundation will continue to operate three sites: MUHK (Rural Life Curiosity Centre) in Ülenurme, the C. R. Jakobson Farm Museum in Kurgja and the Tori Horse Breeding Farm in Tori.
The Estonian Agricultural Museum will officially become MUHK on 18 September 2026.
Further information:
Kadri Valner
Member of the Management Board
Estonian Rural Museums Foundation
Tel. +372 528 8104