Museum of Natural Sciences

The "Royal Belgian Institute of Natural Sciences" in Brussels is the third largest natural history museum in Europe. It is located in the "Parc Léopold" and was founded in 1846. The collection consists of over 37 million exhibits, part of which is on display. The museum is particularly proud of the Iguanodon finds found at Bernissart, but the dinosaur gallery is also definitely worth a visit. Covering an area of 3,000 square meters, it is the largest dinosaur exhibition in Europe. Over 30 almost complete skeletons and quite a few individual parts are exhibited in the gallery.

In the Mosasaur Hall, the so-called predatory lizards are on display. These reptiles, unlike the dinosaurs, lived in the sea. A particularly interesting specimen in this collection is the 12.5 meter long "Hainosaurus bernadi". Its age is estimated at almost 70 million years.

Of course, there is much more worth knowing to discover in the natural history museum. In the Gallery of Man, interactive presentations, fossil collections and 3D replicas give visitors a glimpse into the history and development of mankind going back millions of years.

The Evolution Gallery is a time travel through the history of the Earth, going back over billions of years. Among other things, more than 600 fossils and over 400 stuffed animals are exhibited here.

Also part of the museum is a large library with over 300,000 books and 10,000 scientific newspapers.