The Museum of Marine Life is housed in an iconic neoclassical building in Limni, Evia, built in 1898. The building originally operated as one of the first kindergartens established with funding from the Vassilios G. Melas Foundation for Preschool Education. In 1994, it was designated a Historic Preserved Monument, and in 2025 it was selected for redevelopment as the Museum of Marine Life through the collaboration of the Hellenic Parliament, the Ministry of Culture, the National and Kapodistrian University of Athens, the Region of Central Greece, and the Municipality of Mantoudi–Limni–Agia Anna.
Organized by the Goulandris Natural History Museum (GNHM), the Museum hosts the Collection of Anastasios Christomanos and highlights marine life as well as the history of ocean exploration. Christomanos, Professor of Biological Chemistry and pioneering researcher, founded the Museum and Laboratory of Marine Biochemistry in Limni in 1953, making a significant contribution to the study of the marine environment in Greece.
The Collection includes approximately 2,000 marine organisms, 50 fossils, 153 rocks, more than 4,000 scientific publications, as well as valuable archival and scientific material. The museological design and exhibition development were undertaken by the Greek Biotope/Wetland Centre, a branch of the Goulandris Natural History Museum.
The Museum will be inaugurated on 5 June 2026 in the presence of the President of the Hellenic Parliament, Nikitas Kaklamanis, and the Minister of Culture, Lina Mendoni.
