Suomen maatalousmuseo Sarka

About the museum

The first discussions about establishing an agricultural museum took place in Finland as early as the 1940s. The initiative for an agricultural machinery museum was taken in 1973 by Loimaa-Seura, and the project only progressed when the Ministry of Education included a national agricultural museum in its target programme in 1985. The Suomen maatalouskonemuseosäätiö (Finnish Agricultural Machinery Museum Foundation) was founded on 10 December 1992 by Loimaa-Seura, the Municipality of Loimaa and a number of private individuals, and the foundation still runs the museum. Senaatti-kiinteistöt (Senate Properties) made the investment decision regarding the museum building in 2003, and the museum opened to the public on 1 June 2005.

Sarka was granted national responsibility museum status on 1 January 2010, and the Museoliitto (Finnish Museums Association) chose it as Museum of the Year in 2021. The museum’s task is to record and tell of the cultural heritage of the countryside, the change in agriculture, food security and the significance of food production in a changing world.

The exhibitions are in three separate buildings, reached through the outdoor area; the horseshoe-shaped main building is visible as soon as you arrive in the yard. The permanent exhibitions tell of 3,000 years of agricultural history, of farm work before the machine age and of mechanisation, and the changing exhibitions complement the offer.

Highlights

• Maatalouden aika (The Age of Agriculture) exhibition as a 3,000-year journey through time
• On se kone! (It’s the Machine!) exhibition with tractors and Finland’s first milking robot
• Ennen koneita (Before Machines) exhibition on farm work before the machine age
• Children’s yard with pedal tractors and summer animals
• Restaurant serving weekday lunch

Permanent exhibitions

• Maatalouden aika – The exhibition takes visitors on a 3,000-year journey from the early cultivation at the end of the Stone Age to today’s agriculture, which is controlled by technology and large farm sizes.
• Ennen koneita – Through a wealth of objects, the exhibition presents farm work of the pre-mechanical age, such as sowing, reaping with a sickle, binding sheaves and spinning yarn.
• On se kone! – The exhibition tells of the mechanisation of Finnish agriculture from the early 20th century to the present day, through classic tractors and Finland’s first milking robot.

Founded

2005

Operated by

Suomen maatalouskonemuseosäätiö

Admission & discounts

The admission ticket is valid all day in the three permanent exhibitions and the changing exhibitions. Museokortti (Finnish Museum Card) is accepted. Admission is free for, among others, veterans of Finland’s wars, staff of other museums (ICOM card), Friends of the Maatalousmuseo, students of museology and agriculture, members of 4H associations, press, group leaders, drivers and teachers accompanying a group, and Ukrainian refugees. Payment methods: cash, bank cards, Edenred and ePassi.

Accessibility

• Wheelchair accessible
• Elevator: no information
• Accessible restroom
• Accessible parking
• Service dogs welcome
• Tactile models & exhibits: no information
• Sign language tours: no information
• Easy-to-read materials: no information
• Audio description: no information

The exhibition buildings are mostly barrier-free, and visitors can move around by wheelchair, rollator or with a pushchair. The main building’s door opens with a motion sensor; the other outer doors do not. The route to the Ennen koneita and On se kone! exhibitions, and to the threshing barn and the barns, goes outdoors, and a car can be driven closer if necessary. The museum can lend two wheelchairs and two rollators. The exhibition spaces have folding assistive chairs, and the permanent exhibitions have benches. Accessible parking spaces are in the front yard. Guide dogs and assistance dogs are welcome.

Kids & families

Great for kids & families

• Family tours & workshops
• Activity booklet, scavenger hunt or kids’ audio guide
• Hands-on stations
• Stroller-friendly
• Baby changing facilities
• Playground / play area

Children under 16 enter free of charge. The museum can lend a pushchair, and the toilet in the main building has a changing table. The restaurant has high chairs, and food for children under one can be warmed. In the Maatalouden aika exhibition you can grind grain with hand querns, play at housekeeping in an old kitchen and try a threshing game; in On se kone! you can sit in a real Valmet 502 tractor, and in Ennen koneita the cat Munne has adventures. In summer there are sheep, puput and hens in the yard, as well as a children’s yard with pedal tractors, a hobby-horse track and a slide. A children’s activity day is held in July, and during school holidays there is a programme for families.

Getting there & parking

The museum is located on the Turku–Tampere highway (main road 9), about 5 km from Loimaa town centre in the direction of Turku.

Amenities & dining

• Café
• Restaurant
• Museum shop
• Coat check
• Lockers

The restaurant and café serve during the museum’s opening hours; weekday lunch is served 11:00–14:00 (adults €11.90). Museum shop Muurikki. The main building has spacious cloakroom and toilet facilities and 25 lockable storage lockers; the Ennen koneita and On se kone! exhibitions have their own cloakrooms and toilets.

Events & venue rental

• Spaces for rent
• Private parties
• Corporate events

The museum has meeting and party spaces; the restaurant provides catering for events.

Plan your visit