The Estonian Dairy Museum – educational tours and delicious tastings
The Eesti Piimandusmuuseum, or Estonian Dairy Museum, is situated in Imavere, Järva County (Järvamaa), Estonia. The museum invites school groups, pre-school children and families to learn about the history of dairy farming and take part in exciting hands-on workshops.
Have you ever made your own ice cream, butter or quark? Here, you can not only learn how milk was processed in the past, but also try out traditional methods of preparation and taste what you’ve made yourself.
School trips can combine a tour of the museum’s exhibitions with a hands-on workshop. The museum also offers outreach sessions at schools and nurseries across Estonia.
🥛 Museum tours and creative workshops
How is ice cream made? In this workshop, pupils learn about the ice cream-making process and try their hand at making it themselves at home.
Participants learn about the necessary ingredients, get involved in the preparation process and, at the end, taste the ice cream they have made themselves.
The session is combined with a tour of the historic dairy and the museum’s exhibition.
⏱️ Duration: approximately 1.5 hours.
Pupils learn about the process of making the popular glazed quark cheeses and get to make them themselves!
During the workshop, participants prepare the quark mixture, coat the cheesecakes with icing, decorate them and taste their creations.
Hands-on activities help them learn about food preparation and develop precision, patience and teamwork skills.
⏱️ Duration: approximately 1.5 hours.
How was butter made in the past? In this workshop, pupils learn about traditional milk processing methods and try their hand at making butter using a butter churn from the last century.
Participants will learn how butter is made from cream, what tools were used, and what by-products are produced during the butter-making process.
You can taste the butter and buttermilk you’ve made yourself, served with bread or the traditional Estonian flatbread – karask.
⏱️ Duration: approximately 1.5 hours.
Sõir is a traditional Estonian curd cheese, and the skills involved in making it form part of Estonia’s culinary heritage.
In this workshop, pupils will learn about the production process and try their hand at traditional cheese-making methods.
The session is suitable for groups wishing to learn about Estonian culinary traditions and get hands-on experience.
⏱️ Duration: approximately 1.5 hours.
The Estonian Dairy Museum provides an insight into the development of milk processing in Estonia – from traditional farming to modern food production.
The historic dairy features tools and equipment from various eras that were used in milk processing.
During the tour, you can learn:
- how milk was collected and processed in the past;
- how butter, cheese and other dairy products were made;
- how milk processing technologies have developed;
- the role of dairy farming in Estonian agriculture and everyday life.
Guided tours must be booked in advance.
The Estonian Dairy Museum can also come to you! The museum offers outreach programmes so that children and pupils can learn about traditional dairy farming skills at their school, nursery or another venue.
🥛 “Kutsu muuseum külla” – Invite the museum to visit
A hands-on outreach session for groups of children, where museum representatives visit the participants and lead a workshop.
👧 Number of participants: up to 30 children.
💶 Prices:
- In Järva County (Järvamaa) – €200 per programme;
- elsewhere in Estonia – €250 per programme.
The prices include the workshop and transport. The specific content and timing of the workshop must be agreed in advance with the museum.
🐄 “Muuseumi väljasõit” – Museum Outing
Another museum outing offer that combines traditional milk processing skills with hands-on activities.
The programme includes:
- butter-making;
- a cow milking activity;
- transport for museum staff to the venue.
💶 Prices: €300 per field trip programme.
The availability of this programme for school and pre-school groups, as well as the number of participants and the conditions of the event, must be confirmed when making a booking.
📩 Field trips must be booked in advance:
mailtoinfo@piimandusmuuseum.ee
The museum also offers an introduction to and tastings of dairy products produced in Estonia.
During the cheese tasting, you can sample cheeses from various Estonian producers, compare their flavours and learn about local food production traditions.
💶 Price: €15 per person.
👥 Groups: from 10 participants or by individual arrangement.
The tasting can be combined with a visit to the museum, subject to prior arrangement of the programme.
💶 Admission and workshop prices
Museum admission tickets
- Adults – €8.
- School pupils and students – €5.
- Family ticket (2 adults and 2 children under 18) – €16.
Hands-on workshops
- Schoolchildren and students – €10 per person.
- For pre-school children – €8 per person.
- Adults – €12 per person.
Additional charge: A fee for guide services is added to the prices of the hands-on workshops – €36 per group, or €40 per group if the session is held in a foreign language.
Workshop conditions:
- Workshops are organised for groups of 8 participants or more.
- For smaller groups, the minimum charge is €96.
- Between 8 and 30 pupils can take part in a single workshop.
- For larger groups, it is possible to arrange for them to be split into smaller groups or to find another solution.
- Additional workshop booking fee – €3.
Guided tours
- Guided tour – €36 per group.
- Guided tour in a foreign language – €40 per group.
Guide services are not included in the prices of the hands-on workshops and are charged separately – €36 per group or €40 per group for a tour in a foreign language.
View the museum’s current price list →
📩 Booking tours and workshops
Workshops at the museum must be booked at least 5 working days in advance. It is recommended to book approximately one week before your visit.
The group size, chosen workshop, language of the session and time of visit must be agreed with the museum in advance.
For off-site sessions, the venue, programme content and practical arrangements must also be agreed in advance.
🥛 Discover dairy farming traditions and try your hand at making dairy products – at the museum in Imavere or on an off-site session!
Photo from the archives of the Estonian Dairy Museum