MUSEUM OF NATURAL SCIENCES BRUSSELS

Beschreibung

Essentials about the Museum of Natural Sciences Brussels in brief

If you feel like looking deep into the eyes of a dinosaur, peering into the trunk of a mammoth or slipping into the skin of a Neanderthal, you should make your way to the Museum of Natural Sciences Brussels. The museum is one of the largest of its kind in the world. Dinosaur fans in particular will get their money’s worth here. With more than thirty almost completely preserved skeletons and numerous dinosaur fragments, the museum houses the largest dinosaur exhibition in Europe. But fans of mammals, sea creatures, insects and minerals will also be able to spend many hours at the Museum of Natural Sciences.

The history of the Museum of Natural Sciences Brussels

The Museum of Natural Sciences was founded in 1846. However, the museum’s collections date back to Prince Charles Alexander of Lorraine in the late 18th century. In 1878, some 40 skeletons of iguanodons, a species of dinosaur from the early Cretaceous period, were found during mining operations. The Iguanodon skeletons have formed one of the centerpieces of the museum’s exhibition ever since. At the end of the 19th century, the museum moved to a former monastery in Leopold Park, but due to the rapid expansion of the collection, extensions were soon necessary. In the period from 1898 to 1905 the south wing was built and in 1950 further extensions were added.

The exhibition in the Museum of Natural Sciences Brussels

The collection of the Museum of Natural Sciences Brussels is one of the largest natural science collections in the world. The Royal Belgian Institute of Natural Sciences, as the parent organization of the museum, has a fabulous collection of almost 40 million natural science objects.

The exhibition in the museum is divided into different sections. In the Dinosaur Hall, the skeletons of various dinosaur species are on display, including the almost completely preserved skeletons of 30 iguanodons. The Gallery on Humans and Mammoths shows the evolution of man and life in the last great ice age. In the Gallery of Mammals extinct and still living mammal species are exhibited. In the North and South Pole Galleries, visitors can learn about the different worlds at the two poles. In the Whale Hall, the skeletons of whales, dolphins, walruses, seals and other sea creatures can be admired. The Shell Gallery is home to one of the world’s largest displays of aquatic invertebrates, including a tropical aquarium. The Insect Gallery is teeming with insects, spiders, crustaceans and other arthropods, which can also be observed in a vivarium. And in the Mineral Gallery, crystals, cut gems, meteorites and precious moon rocks can be seen.