Museum of Natural Sciences

The Museum of Natural Sciences of Belgium (Muséum des Sciences naturelles de Belgique; Museum voor Natuurwetenschappen van België) is a Brussels museum dedicated to natural history. It is a part of the Royal Belgian Institute of Natural Sciences (Institut royal des Sciences naturelles de Belgique (IRSNB); Koninklijk Belgisch Instituut voor Natuurwetenschappen (KBIN)).

The Dinosaur Hall of the museum 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. This site is served by Brussels-Luxembourg railway station.

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, dating from the 18th century. The scientist and politician Bernard du Bus de Gisignies 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, 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, in Antwerp, 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.

In 1878, the largest find of Iguanodon fossils to date occurred in a coal mine at Bernissart, in Hainaut, Belgium. At least 38 Iguanodon (Iguanodon bernissartensis) skeletons were uncovered, at a depth of 322 m, of which 30 were brought back to the museum and put on display. They were mounted by Louis Dollo 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 Bernissartia.

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 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 4580 m2 has been the largest dinosaur hall in the world.

Permanent exhibitions



 * The Dinosaur Hall: with the world-famous Iguanodon 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: 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.