Poland

Idea for the weekend: macro insects in Microcosmos

We walk together on a wooden footbridge over the grass, surrounded by flowering trees. All around, we hear birdsong and children’s laughter. Suddenly, a horse-sized mosquito appears around the bend, followed closely by a crossbreed spider. No one is screaming, no one is running away. Ba, more and more people eagerly reach out to these giant creatures and…. stroke them!

No fear! These are just figures of insects magnified many times and perfectly reproduced, which we can see in the Ujezda Microcosmos Park.

Expect lots of inspiration for day or weekend trips out of town this year! We are mainly rushing to offer suggestions for families with children in the Lodz region, but there is something for everyone! …because ostensibly for children, but how much an adult can learn about insects and microorganisms.

Today we invite you for a short walk of about an hour among a giant ladybug (and by no means do we mean the well-known discount chain ;-)), a praying mantis, a bee and many unicellulars. These, very realistically created sculptures in high magnification can be found in the Microcosmos Park in Ujazd (Lodz province).

Table of contents

Getting to Microcosm

Microcosmos Park is located in the town of Ujazd near Tomaszow Mazowiecki. It is about 50 kilometers from Lodz, and the road takes about 45 minutes by car. Ideally, when it comes to escaping the city and spending half or all of the day outdoors.

Getting to the site is recommended with navigation. We took the 713 road to Ujazd, and then turned left to Lubocha, and from this road you turn left to your destination.

Along the way, it’s hard to look for signs for the Microcosmos Park, and as you approach be careful, because suddenly your navigation may tell you to turn onto some dirt road. Yes, this is the access road to the “worms”. It is driven only a short distance, although I imagine that in bad weather driving it could be troublesome.

Fortunately, the stretch is short, you’ll cover it in a minute, and you’ll immediately catch a glimpse of a small parking lot and a micro… park.

Microcosm “from the outside”

When we arrived at the entrance, our first reaction was: “so small!”? We saw a fenced area the size of an eagle, and expected a large, sprawling area where one can walk freely, almost for hours. Fortunately, the area only seems so microscopic, and in fact stretches a little further than it looked at first glance.

So initially we were quite skeptical. Fortunately, the mood improved already at the checkout (no, it’s not that somehow the attraction is outstandingly cheap). The lady working at the cash register was just very helpful and willing to provide information. She helped us and answered all our questions with a smile.

The microcosm is not only insects!

One walks along the Microcosm along a marked path. Which is not to say that you can’t get off the path for anything. Insects can be approached and even touched, but it is advisable to stay on the path, however, because we may inadvertently destroy the specimens growing here. And there are a lot of plants here, and they may be a bigger attraction for some than the insects themselves.

We hit the flowering season, so some trees were strewn with white petals, and some were just releasing their first buds. We saw tulips and cherry blossoms, which we didn’t see in Japan, and you can also find many russets among the flowers and grasses. Here we felt at times like we were in a botanical garden.

It took us about an hour to walk through the microcosm, and we walked really slowly and everyone was ahead of us. Along the way we could admire a mosquito, a ladybug, a bumblebee, a bee. Seemingly for children, and we ourselves learned many interesting facts about insects that occur so abundantly in Poland, and about which we know so little (admit it, how many times have you argued whether a mosquito or a mosquito bites ;) ). The sculptures are very realistic, although you can see that some are past their prime (the praying mantis, for example, had its pincers glued on) or are simply faded from the sun.

Also interesting was the exhibition at the very end showing various bacteria, viruses or what can threaten us visualized and enlarged so that they were as big as balls or even bigger. Some of them we even recognized without a problem, and some were a complete surprise.

Throughout the park there are 25 insects and the same number of micro-granisms.

For children or adults?

Although all groups of visitors were families with children, adults can also spend a very pleasant day here.

Olive, unfortunately, did not show tremendous interest in these giant creatures. She was more interested in flowers, benches, leaves and stones. And she was even more interested in the playground where there were several slides, a climbing wall, swings, mega blocks, etc.

I think that a few more months, a year and we will return here again, and Olive will ask thousands of questions about every creature here :)

We saw many older children who were even fascinated by the insects found here. In addition, at the end, a great attraction awaits those older children – a short (30 meters) tyrolean ride completely free of charge :)

Practical information about Microcosm

Exact address: Ujazd, woj. Lodz, ul. Pasikonika, zip code 97-225

Tickets: adult – PLN 15, concessionary – PLN 13.

Inside, you can safely ride a stroller, although there are a few low steps to climb. There is a small bar with coffee, tea, drinks, sweets, French fries and casseroles. In front of the entrance you will find a small parking lot, where you are unlikely to have a problem parking your car.

Summary

The Microcosmos Park is an interesting break from the hustle and bustle of the city, and can be combined, for example, with a walk through the Blue Springs in Tomaszow Mazowiecki or a visit to the Nadgórzyckie Grottoes. Even if it will be your only point of the day, it is worth a look there :)

We also invite you to visit the photo gallery of Microcosm:

Zobacz galerię wszystkich zdjęć z Mikrokomosu >>>

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Are you looking for other travel inspiration for the Lodz region? We also recommend our other entries: