The Museum of Natural Sciences (, ; , ) is a

Brussels Brussels, officially the Brussels-Capital Region, (All text and all but one graphic show the English name as Brussels-Capital Region.) is a Communities, regions and language areas of Belgium#Regions, region of Belgium comprising #Municipalit ...

museum dedicated to

natural history Natural history is a domain of inquiry involving organisms, including animals, fungi, and plants, in their natural environment, leaning more towards observational than experimental methods of study. A person who studies natural history is cal ...

. It is a part of the Royal Belgian Institute of Natural Sciences (; ), itself part of the institutions of the Belgian Federal Science Policy Office (BELSPO). The Dinosaur Hall of the museum is the world's largest museum hall completely dedicated to dinosaurs. Its most important pieces are 30

fossil A fossil (from Classical Latin , ) is any preserved remains, impression, or trace of any once-living thing from a past geological age. Examples include bones, shells, exoskeletons, stone imprints of animals or microbes, objects preserve ...

ised ''

Iguanodon ''Iguanodon'' ( ; meaning 'iguana-tooth'), named in 1825, is a genus of iguanodontian dinosaur. While many species found worldwide have been classified in the genus ''Iguanodon'', dating from the Late Jurassic to Early Cretaceous, Taxonomy (bi ...

'' skeletons, which were discovered in 1878 in

Bernissart Bernissart (; ) is a municipality of Wallonia located in the province of Hainaut, Belgium. On January 1, 2024, Bernissart had a total population of 11,878. The total area is 43.81 km2, which gives a population density of 271 inhabitants p ...

, Belgium. Another famous piece is the

Ishango bone The Ishango bone, discovered at the "Fisherman Settlement" of Ishango in the Democratic Republic of the Congo, is a bone tool and possible mathematical device that dates to the Upper Paleolithic era. The curved bone is dark brown in color, about ...

, which was discovered in 1960 by

Jean de Heinzelin de Braucourt Jean de Heinzelin de Braucourt (6 August 1920 – 4 November 1998) was a Belgians, Belgian geologist who worked mainly in Africa. He worked at the Ghent University, universities of Ghent and Free University of Brussels (1834–1969), Brussels. ...

in the

Belgian Congo The Belgian Congo (, ; ) was a Belgian colonial empire, Belgian colony in Central Africa from 1908 until independence in 1960 and became the Republic of the Congo (Léopoldville). The former colony adopted its present name, the Democratic Repu ...

. The museum also houses a research department and a public exhibit department. The museum is located at 29, /, in

Leopold Park Leopold Park (, ; ) is a public park of located within the Leopold Quarter (Brussels and the European Union, European Quarter) of Brussels, Belgium. It is adjacent to the Espace Léopold, Paul-Henri Spaak building, the seat of the European Par ...

, close to the

European institutions European integration is the process of political, legal, social, regional and economic integration of states wholly or partially in Europe, or nearby. European integration has primarily but not exclusively come about through the European Union ...

and the

House of European History The House of European History (HEH) is a history museum and cultural institution in Brussels, Belgium, focusing on the recent history of Europe. It is an initiative by the European Parliament, and was proposed in 2007 by the Parliament's then ...

(HEH). This area is served by

Brussels-Luxembourg railway station Brussels-Luxembourg railway station (; ) is a railway station in the Brussels and the European Union#European Quarter, European Quarter of Brussels, Belgium, located under the Esplanade of the European Parliament (part of the European Parliamen ...

, as well as by the

metro Metro may refer to: Geography * Metro City (Indonesia), a city in Indonesia * A metropolitan area, the populated region including and surrounding an urban center Public transport * Rapid transit, a passenger railway in an urban area with high ...

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 ''Musée de Bruxelles'' of 1802. It was based on the collection established by

Prince Charles Alexander of Lorraine Prince Charles Alexander Emanuel of Lorraine (; ; 12 December 1712 in Lunéville – 4 July 1780 in Tervuren) was a Duchy of Lorraine, Lorraine-born Habsburg monarchy, Austrian general and soldier, field marshal of the Imperial Army of the Holy ...

, dating from the 18th century. The scientist and politician

Bernard du Bus de Gisignies Bernard Aimé Léonard du Bus de Gisignies (21 June 1808 in Saint-Josse-ten-Noode – 6 July 1874 in Bad Ems) was a Dutch nobleman and later on a Belgium, Belgian politician. He was a collector of arts, books, an ornithologist and paleontolog ...

became the first director of the museum in 1846, and on this occasion, he donated 2,474 birds from his own collection to the museum. In 1860, during the construction of new fortifications around

Antwerp Antwerp (; ; ) is a City status in Belgium, city and a Municipalities of Belgium, municipality in the Flemish Region of Belgium. It is the capital and largest city of Antwerp Province, and the third-largest city in Belgium by area at , after ...

, several

s were found, mainly of whales, and they were acquired by the museum. The museum also obtained the skeletons of a

bowhead whale The bowhead whale (''Balaena mysticetus''), sometimes called the Greenland right whale, Arctic whale, and polar whale, is a species of baleen whale belonging to the family Balaenidae and is the only living representative of the genus '' Balaena' ...

(''Balaena mysticetus'') and a young

blue whale The blue whale (''Balaenoptera musculus'') is a marine mammal and a baleen whale. Reaching a maximum confirmed length of and weighing up to , it is the largest animal known ever to have existed. The blue whale's long and slender body can ...

(''Balaenoptera musculus''), which are still on display today. The same year, the skeleton of a

mammoth A mammoth is any species of the extinct elephantid genus ''Mammuthus.'' They lived from the late Miocene epoch (from around 6.2 million years ago) into the Holocene until about 4,000 years ago, with mammoth species at various times inhabi ...

was unearthed near Lier, in

, Belgium, and due to the prompt action of the

archaeologist Archaeology or archeology is the study of human activity through the recovery and analysis of material culture. The archaeological record consists of Artifact (archaeology), artifacts, architecture, biofact (archaeology), biofacts or ecofacts, ...

François-Joseph Scohy François-Joseph Scohy (1831–1881) was a Belgian military physician and archaeologist. Life Scohy was born in Gilly, Belgium, on 26 September 1831. He studied medicine and natural science at the Catholic University of Louvain, graduating doctor ...

, 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 Saint Petersburg, formerly known as Petrograd and later Leningrad, is the List of cities and towns in Russia by population, second-largest city in Russia after Moscow. It is situated on the Neva, River Neva, at the head of the Gulf of Finland ...

in Russia. In 1878, the largest find of ''

'' fossils to date occurred in a coal mine at

, in Hainaut, Belgium. At least 38 ''Iguanodon'' (''Iguanodon bernissartensis'') skeletons were uncovered, at a depth of ,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. . of which 30 were brought back to the museum and put on display. They were mounted by

Louis Dollo Louis Antoine Marie Joseph Dollo (; 7 December 1857 – 19 April 1931) was a Belgian palaeontologist, known for his work on dinosaurs. He also posited that evolution is not reversible, known as Dollo's law. Together with the Austrian Othenio Ab ...

and set the standard that was followed for over a century. Found alongside the ''Iguanodon'' skeletons were the remains of plants, fish, and other reptiles, including the

crocodyliform Crocodyliformes is a clade of Crurotarsi, crurotarsan archosaurs, the group often traditionally referred to as "crocodilians". They are the first members of Crocodylomorpha to possess many of the features that define later relatives. They are the ...

Bernissartia ''Bernissartia'' ('of Bernissart') is an extinct genus of neosuchian crocodyliform that lived in the Early Cretaceous, around 130 million years ago. At only in length, ''Bernissartia'' is one of the smallest crocodyliforms that ever lived. It ...

''.Palmer, D. ed. (1999). ''The Marshall Illustrated Encyclopedia of Dinosaurs and Prehistoric Animals''. London: Marshall Editions. p. 100. . Between 1889 and 1891, the museum moved from its original home at the

Palace of Charles of Lorraine The Palace of Charles of Lorraine (; ) is a neoclassical palace in the Royal Quarter of Brussels, Belgium. Its construction started in 1757 to serve as the residence of the Governor of the Habsburg Netherlands, Prince Charles Alexander of L ...

into a former convent located on the heights of the park. The building quickly became too narrow and the director of the time, Edward Dupont, entrusted the architect Charles-Emile Janlet the construction of a new southern wing. Work began in 1898 and ended in October 1905. The new rooms were specially designed to accommodate the new collections. In 1950, several modern buildings were added to house new exhibition and storage rooms, as well as premises for the Royal Belgian Institute of Natural Sciences, the research centre of which the museum is now part. Since 2007, the completely renovated and enlarged Dinosaur Hall (the ''Janlet'' wing) of has been the largest dinosaur hall in the world.

Permanent exhibitions

* The ''Dinosaur Hall'': with the world-famous ''

'' skeletons (30 almost complete skeletons) * The ''Gallery of Humankind'': our evolution * The gallery ''Living Planet'' * The ''Gallery of evolution'' * History of the institute: ''250 years of Natural Sciences'' *''Biodivercity'' * The ''Mineral Gallery'':

crystal A crystal or crystalline solid is a solid material whose constituents (such as atoms, molecules, or ions) are arranged in a highly ordered microscopic structure, forming a crystal lattice that extends in all directions. In addition, macros ...

s, cut gems,

meteorite A meteorite is a rock (geology), rock that originated in outer space and has fallen to the surface of a planet or Natural satellite, moon. When the original object enters the atmosphere, various factors such as friction, pressure, and chemical ...

s and precious bits of

Moon rock Moon rock or lunar rock is rock originating from Earth's Moon. This includes lunar material collected during the course of human exploration of the Moon, and rock that has been ejected naturally from the Moon's surface and landed on Earth ...

. * The

, a prehistoric bone counting tool. In addition to these permanent exhibitions, there are also temporary exhibitions, which are always highly interactive. File:Squelette de dinosaure du Muséum des sciences naturelles de Belgique.jpg, Dinosaur skeleton File:Squelette de mammouth du Muséum des sciences naturelles de Belgique.jpg, Mammoth skeleton File:Ishango bone.jpg, The

References

Citations

Bibliography

* Anne Vivé and Anne Versailles, ''Du Musée à l'Institut : 150 ans de sciences naturelles'' (in French), Brussels, Institut royal des Sciences naturelles de Belgique, 1996, 112 p.

External links