The birthplace of illustrator and writer Tove Jansson is now home to a museum dedicated to her most famous creation – The Moomins – which has opened in Finland.

The gallery in Tampere offers the first permanent repository for Moomin memorabilia and artefacts, with Tampere Art Museum’s Moominvalley Collection going on temporary display in venues across the city for the past 30 years.

Taking up residence in Tampere Hall, the newly-renamed Moomin Museum is an experiential art museum showcasing original Moomin illustrations by Jansson, who was born in 1914 and died in 2001.

Located in the centre of Tampere, the €3.5m (US$3.9m, £3.1m) museum’s first permanent exhibition, Guess What Happens Next?, tells the entire Moomin story from start to finish. Jansson’s original illustrations are also accompanied by a number of audio re-enactments, philosophical quotations by Moomin characters and written plot synopses.

Interactive exhibits include the Hobgoblin’s hat, which produces “magical transformations” when visitors step inside, as well as a touch-controlled Hattifattener animation.

In all, the museum features a collection of nearly 400 original Moomin illustrations and other artefacts selected from the Moominvalley Collection, which is the world’s largest collection of Jansson’s original Moomin-themed illustrations.

In addition to museum exhibits, a reading room offers a rare collection of Moomin titles, while the Tampere Hall Shop offers a selection of exclusive Moomin merchandise.

Design architects N.e.o Ark Oy handled exhibition design, with Valinor Oy working on sound design and installation. AV engineering was handled by Grand Consulting Oy.

A free-to-download app is also available for download, which contains both a conventional mobile guide and dramatised version in Finnish, Swedish, English, Japanese and Russian.

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