1915: Opening of the Finnish Museum of the Deaf
The Finnish Museum of the Deaf preserves the cultural heritage of the deaf in Finland.
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The starting point of the museum has been estimated on the basis of the donations given to the museum in 1907 by Fritz and Maria Hirn. The Hirns were former pupils of Carl Oscar Malm, the founder of deaf education in Finland. They donated to the museum photographs and materials dating back to their school days. The museum collections increased gradually. The first exhibition, Carl Oscar Malm’s museum room, was opened to the public in Helsinki for the first time on the 12th of February 1915.
The function of the museum is to collect, research and exhibit the cultural heritage of the deaf and sign language users in Finland. The aim of the museum is to increase knowledge of the history and culture of the deaf and sign language users and to strengthen their identity. In addition, the museum aims at communicating knowledge related to its specialty to the public at large.
Since 2012, The Finnish Museum of the Deaf is part of the Finnish Labour Museum Werstas inTampere.
Source: http://www.kuurojenmuseo.fi/?page_id=253&lang=en