Backgroundinformation - Press Releases
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Comprising over 30 million collection items, an exhibition area of over 7,000 square metres and a Research Department, the Museum für Naturkunde is the largest German natural history museum. On a global scale, it is among the top five natural history museums. It was founded in 1810.
Architecture
The Museum für Naturkunde forms the representative centrepiece of an ensemble built by architect August Tiede on the grounds of the former Royal Iron Foundry.
Brachiosaurus brancai
The skeleton of Brachiosaurus brancai from Tendaguru in Tanzania is 13.27 metres tall and the largest mounted dinosaur skeleton in the world.
Primeval Bird Archaeopteryx
After the refurbishment of the exhibitions in 2007, the original Berlin specimen of primeval bird Archaeopteryx lithographica went on public display for the first time ever. It is supposed to be the best-known fossil in the world.
"Bobby" the Gorilla
The taxidermy of Bobby the gorilla was created by Karl Kaestner and Gerhard Schröder in 1936 and is a masterpiece of its kind! It is on display in the Preparation Exhibition of the Museum.
Keller's Model of a Housefly
The model of a housefly, 50 times magnified, was built by preparator Alfred Keller in 1932. In its amazing precision and attention to detail, it remains unsurpassed, in spite of the new materials and techniques available today.
The Discovery of Uranium
In 1817, the Museum für Naturkunde bought the original collection of chemist Martin Heinrich Klaproth, (1734-1817), containing the pieces in which he had discovered several elements, including uranium.