The dwarf elephant
A life-size model of an extinct Cretan mammal.
Pradigue โ CC BY-SA 3.0 ยท C messier โ CC BY-SA 4.0 ยท C messier โ CC BY-SA 4.0 ยท
A University of Crete museum in a former **power station** on the seafront west of the harbour, and by a wide margin **the best thing to do in Heraklion with children** โ as well as one of the finest natural history museums in the eastern Mediterranean. Its subject is the ecology of the whole **Mediterranean basin** rather than Crete alone: life-size dioramas of each environment โ mountain, forest, desert, coast and sea โ with their animals and plants in full-scale scenes. Its best-known exhibits are the **dwarf elephant** and the **Deinotherium**: life-size models of mammals that lived on Crete during the ice ages. The island had **dwarf elephants and hippopotami** that shrank over generations through isolation โ the well-known biological phenomenon of island dwarfism. It has an **earthquake simulator** in which visitors sit and feel a genuine recorded tremor โ something children remember, and meaningful on an island astride an active fault line. **Discovery Cosmos** is an interactive section for younger children, and there is a small zoo of Cretan species.
A life-size model of an extinct Cretan mammal.
A real recorded tremor felt from a seat.
Mountain, forest, desert and sea at full scale.
Sofokli Venizelou Avenue, 71202 Heraklion
A well-known biological phenomenon: when large mammals are **isolated on an island** with limited space and food and no large predators, successive generations tend to get **smaller**, because a small body needs less food and lives longer. It happened on Crete during the ice ages: the island had **dwarf elephants, hippopotami and deer**, some no larger than a cow or even a pig. The reverse also occurs โ **island gigantism** โ in small animals such as rodents. The museum shows this with life-size models, and it is one of the clearest explanations of the concept for a non-specialist.
Yes, and it is the best thing in Heraklion for them. The exhibits are **three-dimensional and life-size** rather than text behind glass; there is **Discovery Cosmos**, an interactive section for younger ones with stations they work by hand; a **small zoo** of Cretan species; and the **earthquake simulator** they remember. โ But take care with the simulator for under-fives or anyone frightened by sudden noise โ the tremor is strong and realistic. Allow at least an hour and a half, and the seafront setting means you can walk afterwards.
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