The Natural History Museum on Merrion Street, which houses the iconic collection, is now closed for essential refurbishment with conservation works expected to take several years.

The new Dead Zoo Lab is designed to give visitors continued access to the museum’s most popular exhibits, including Spoticus the Giraffe, the infamous eel choking on a frog and the dodo skeleton. The collection also features a wide range of specimens across geology, entomology, marine life, mammals, birds and reptiles.

“The nature of the display of the natural history collection at the Natural History Museum on Merrion Street has been largely unchanged since Victorian times, and the Dead Zoo Lab at Collins Barracks will be used by the National Museum to experiment with and test new methods of engaging the public,” a museum spokesman said.

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The Blaschka Glass Models of Marine Life, the largest such collection in the world, will also be partially displayed with several pieces not seen in public for generations. Exhibition items will rotate over time, offering returning visitors fresh reasons to explore.

Natural History Keeper Paolo Viscardi said: “The space is smaller than Merrion Street but lots of firm favourites will be on display like Spoticus the Giraffe, the infamous eel choking on a frog and Giant Irish Deer, as well as many items returning to display after many years in storage.”

Dr Éimear O’Connor, Director of Collections and Access, added: “The Dead Zoo Lab has been designed to promote and encourage collaboration with communities, artists and scientists, all of which will inform the interpretation of the natural history collections for the redisplay of the Museum on Merrion Street when it reopens.”

The National Museum at Collins Barracks is open seven days a week and admission is free.