Museum of Natural Sciences

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Wikipedia

Museum of Natural Sciences
  • Muséum des sciences naturelles (French)
  • Museum voor Natuurwetenschappen (Dutch)
Entrance to the Museum of Natural Sciences
Interactive fullscreen map
Established1846; 179 years ago (1846)
LocationRue Vautier / Vautierstraat 29,
1000 City of Brussels, Brussels-Capital Region, Belgium
Coordinates50°50′13″N 4°22′34″E / 50.83694°N 4.37611°E / 50.83694; 4.37611
TypeNatural history museum
Collection size38,000,000 specimens[1]
VisitorsNearly 330,000 per year (2018)[2]
DirectorMichel Van Camp[1]
Employees390[1]
Public transit access
Websitewww.naturalsciences.be/en

The Museum of Natural Sciences (French: Muséum des sciences naturelles, pronounced [myzeɔm de sjɑ̃s natyʁɛl]; Dutch: Museum voor Natuurwetenschappen, pronounced [myˈzeːjʏɱ voːr naːˈtyːrˌʋeːtə(n)sxɑpə(n)]) is a museum in Brussels, Belgium, dedicated to natural history.[3] It is a part of the Royal Belgian Institute of Natural Sciences (French: Institut royal des sciences naturelles de Belgique (IRSNB); Dutch: Koninklijk Belgisch Instituut voor Natuurwetenschappen (KBIN)), itself part of the institutions of the Belgian Federal Science Policy Office (BELSPO).

The museum's Dinosaur Hall is the world's largest museum hall completely dedicated to dinosaurs. Its most important pieces are 30 fossilised Iguanodon skeletons, which were discovered in 1878 in Bernissart, Belgium. Another famous piece is the Ishango bone, which was discovered in 1960 by Jean de Heinzelin de Braucourt in the Belgian Congo. The museum also houses a research department and a public exhibit department.

The museum is located at 29, rue Vautier/Vautierstraat, in Leopold Park, close to the European institutions and the House of European History (HEH). This area is served by Brussels-Luxembourg railway station, as well as by the metro stations Maelbeek/Maalbeek and Schuman on lines 1 and 5.

History

The Museum of Natural Sciences was founded on 31 March 1846 as a descendant of the Brussels Museum of Natural History (French: Musée d'histoire naturelle de Bruxelles), often called the Brussels Museum (French: Musée de Bruxelles). This institution had been founded in 1802 and was itself based on the collection assembled at the end of the 18th century by Prince Charles Alexander of Lorraine. The scientist and politician Bernard du Bus de Gisignies became the museum's first director in 1846, and on this occasion, he donated 2,474 birds from his own collection to the museum.[4]

Louis Dollo supervising the mounting of an Iguanodon skeleton, c. 1882–1885

In 1860, during the construction of new fortifications around Antwerp, several fossils were found, mainly of whales, and they were acquired by the museum. The museum also obtained the skeletons of a bowhead whale (Balaena mysticetus) and a young blue whale (Balaenoptera musculus), which are still on display today. The same year, the skeleton of a mammoth was unearthed near Lier, Belgium, and due to the prompt action of the archaeologist François-Joseph Scohy, it was preserved and brought to the museum, where it has been exhibited since 1869. At that time, the only other skeleton of a mammoth on display was in the museum of Saint Petersburg in Russia.[5]

In 1878, the largest find of Iguanodon fossils to date occurred in a coal mine in Bernissart, Belgium. At least 38 Iguanodon (Iguanodon bernissartensis) skeletons were uncovered, at a depth of 322 metres (1,056 ft),[6] of which 30 were brought back to the museum and put on display. They were mounted by the palaeontologist Louis Dollo and set the standard that was followed for over a century.[7] Found alongside the Iguanodon skeletons were the remains of plants, fish, and other reptiles,[6] including the crocodyliform Bernissartia.[8]

Between 1889 and 1891, the museum moved from its original home at the Palace of Charles of Lorraine into a former convent located on the heights of Leopold Park. The building quickly became too small, so the director of the time, Edward Dupont, commissioned the architect Charles-Emile Janlet to design a new south wing. Work began in 1898 and was completed in October 1905. The new rooms were specially designed to accommodate the new collections.[9]

In 1950, several modern buildings designed by the architect Lucien De Vestel were added to house new exhibition and storage rooms, as well as premises for the Royal Belgian Institute of Natural Sciences (French: Institut royal des sciences naturelles de Belgique or IRSNB, Dutch: Koninklijk Belgisch Instituut voor Natuurwetenschappen or KBIN), the research centre of which the museum is now part.[10]

Between 2003 and 2009, the museum underwent an extensive renovation and modernisation programme. The large exhibition hall was restored to its original state while taking into account the museum's contemporary needs. Accessibility from the main entrance to the large exhibition hall was improved, connection between the Cloister wing and the Janlet wing was restored, and the monumental staircase was rebuilt. A new "circulation tower" was also added to enhance internal movement throughout the complex.[11] The fully renovated and enlarged Dinosaur Hall reopened to the public in 2007.[12] In 2020, the two upper floors of the Cloister wing, which now houses the Living Planet permanent gallery, were also renovated. Concurrently, a new stairwell and lift were installed between the Janlet wing and the Gallery of Humankind to facilitate access for persons with reduced mobility.[11]

In 2022, as part of Greenpeace's 50th anniversary celebrations, a mural by the Spanish artist Rocío Álvarez [es], celebrating the biodiversity of our planet, was unveiled on the walls surrounding the museum.[11][13]

Permanent exhibitions

Mounted Iguanodon skeletons in the Dinosaur Hall
  • The Dinosaur Hall: with the world-famous Iguanodon skeletons (30 almost complete skeletons). Spanning 4,580 m2 (49,300 sq ft), it is the largest of its kind in Europe, if not the world.[12]
  • The Gallery of Humankind: our evolution
  • The Living Planet gallery
  • The Gallery of evolution
  • History of the institute: 250 years of Natural Sciences
  • Biodivercity
  • The Mineral Gallery: crystals, cut gems, meteorites and precious bits of Moon rock.
  • The Ishango bone, a prehistoric bone counting tool.

In addition to these permanent exhibitions, there are also temporary exhibitions, which are always highly interactive.

See also

References

Citations

  1. 1 2 3 Royal Belgian Institute of Natural Sciences (July 2021). 2020 Annual Report (PDF) (Report). Royal Belgian Institute of Natural Sciences.
  2. ↑ Ienco, Grégory (17 July 2019). "Près de 330.000 visiteurs pour le Musée de l'Institut des sciences naturelles en 2018". BX1 (in French). Retrieved 21 February 2025.
  3. ↑ "Natural Sciences Museum". visit.brussels. Retrieved 21 September 2018.
  4. ↑ Vivé & Versailles 1996, p. 9–12.
  5. ↑ Vivé & Versailles 1996, p. 13–14.
  6. 1 2 Norman, David B. (1985). "To Study a Dinosaur". The Illustrated Encyclopedia of Dinosaurs: An Original and Compelling Insight into Life in the Dinosaur Kingdom. New York: Crescent Books. pp. 24–33. ISBN 0-517-46890-5.
  7. ↑ Vivé & Versailles 1996, p. 22.
  8. ↑ Palmer, D. ed. (1999). The Marshall Illustrated Encyclopedia of Dinosaurs and Prehistoric Animals. London: Marshall Editions. p. 100. ISBN 1-84028-152-9.
  9. ↑ Vivé & Versailles 1996, p. 23–24.
  10. ↑ Vivé & Versailles 1996, p. 41, 92–94.
  11. 1 2 3 "Institut royal des Sciences naturelles de Belgique | Régie des Bâtiments". www.regiedesbatiments.be. Retrieved 25 November 2025.
  12. 1 2 "Le musée des Sciences naturelles fait peau neuve". RTL Info (in French). 23 August 2007. Retrieved 25 November 2025.
  13. ↑ "Bruxelles-Ville : une fresque inaugurée pour célébrer les 50 ans de Greenpeace". BX1 (in French). 24 June 2022. Retrieved 25 November 2025.

Bibliography

  • Media related to Museum of Natural Sciences of Belgium at Wikimedia Commons
  • Official website