The Museum of Natural Sciences of Belgium (French: Muséum des sciences naturelles de Belgique, Dutch: Museum voor Natuurwetenschappen van België) is a museum dedicated to natural history, located in Brussels, Belgium. The museum is a part of the Royal Belgian Institute of Natural Sciences. Its most important pieces are 30 fossilised Iguanodon skeletons, which were discovered in 1878 in Bernissart, Belgium. The Dinosaur Hall of the museum is the world's largest museum hall completely dedicated to dinosaurs. 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 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.
Monday | Closed |
Tuesday | 9:30 AM – 5:00 PM |
Wednesday | 9:30 AM – 5:00 PM |
Thursday | 9:30 AM – 5:00 PM |
Friday | 9:30 AM – 5:00 PM |
Saturday | 10:00 AM – 6:00 PM |
Sunday | 10:00 AM – 6:00 PM |
Andreea Constantin | Feb 20, 2018
It hosts the biggest dinosaur expo in Europe, but temporary exhibitions are usually interesting too. The parking lot is quite small and reaches maximum capacity during busy days (holidays and weekends). There is easy access with public transportation. They have a bistro and a gift shop with lots of cool stuff for kids. Definitely worth a visit!
Catherine McLellan | Jan 23, 2018
Great for kids! The permanent exhibit is very well done and lots of things with which the little ones can interact. We did the extra money exhibit which was also well done and had a climbing frame for the kids. Great way to burn some energy. Well worth admission as our kids are under 6yrs old so free! Note-adults pay 7€ or 9.50€ to include the extra exhibit
generalJWJ | Jan 6, 2018
Pleasant nature museum not far from a train station. The dinosaur exhibit is really spectacular with many specimens displayed in an impressive way. Same goes for the relatively new gallery of human evolution and diversity and the gallery of evolution which were very instructive. Unfortunately several large galleries were closed for renovations, including the cetaceans room and the arthropods room. I also remembered large galleries of stuffed animals from my childhood visits which were nowhere to be found. The minerals and gemstone collection is unchanged after all these years and still very agreeable to look at. Unfortunately did not have the opportunity to visit the temporary exposition. The souvenir store was interesting, selling many nature books for young children in both French and Dutch as well as many more grown up oriented tomes (most notably many books of Delachaux's excellent nature guide series). If one is deeply interested in nature and biology the visit can easily take 4 or more hours, of you're just looking for entertainment and/or have children it may just take between 2 and 3 hours.
Matteo M | Feb 7, 2018
One of the best museums in Brussels, very good and friendly for kids. The exhibits are very well done and there's a lot of interaction and things to touch. Definitely worth many visits. In particular the dinosaur collection is one of the best in Europe, and kids and adults love it!!
Lupu Viorel | Mar 2, 2018
Great place to visit. About 3 hours to cover all. Free for everybody on the first Wednesday of every month after 13:00 but even so worth to pay a ticket to visit. Great to visit for kids also.
Jan Kotik | Mar 11, 2018
If you get a drink, they will allow you to drink it only around the display of rocks. So, get ready, rocks are your friends. They also have an exhibition of a meteorites. It reminded me of my time at elementary school. Collecting rocks and guessing what they are. I never made it to the dinosaur section :(
Jeroen Vandeweghe | Apr 8, 2018
The museum features beautiful and interesting displays. An enriching experience! Definitely to do while in the neighborhood. It is a pity there are a number of missing items (being studied / restored), but this is understandable. Less understandable is the number of broken (interactive) items in the human evolution section, especially when I'm given to understand these have been broken for months. Fix please! At least rope them off with an apology until fixed? Now it's like the museum staff just doesn't care. (Minus 1 star) The cafetaria of this "royal Belgian" institute could do with service which understands the Belgian national languages instead of only French. My advice is to lunch early, as the speed of service makes sure there's quickly a queue. Or bring your own lunch. (Minus 1 star)
Steijn Beerepoot | Apr 20, 2018
Doesn't go in to detail but teaches some interesting things about dinosaurs and ancient animals. The dinosaur skeletons were cool and there are some simulations to teach about environmental protection. Temporary exhibition was not worth the additional price of €2,50 since it only contained the image of the monkeys and didn't tell much about the lives of the different species.
Dieter Eeckhout | May 3, 2018
Great museum for kids (4 years old plus). Interactive, 4 languages(Dutch, French, German, English). Very nice overview of dinosaur and general evolution of life. With restaurant and gift shop. Also displays hundreds of natural minerals.
Janelle L | May 29, 2018
A really informative and nice museum. I love the human evolution part - spend more than an hour there! Lots of interactive games, lots of kids visiting and free lockers for you to store your bag too! Could spend more than three hours here if you want to check out everything. €6 for students absolutely worth it!!
Rina Shah | May 25, 2018
This is a great museum. We did everything of interest, with a small child, in about an 90 minutes. Not everything is written in English, but there's lots to look at. The dinosaur section is particularly impressive. I just wish it was an easier tourist attraction to access.
Gregorio Gentili | Jun 15, 2018
The visit inside this museum has been one of the most exciting of my life. I think that "Museum of Natural sciences of Bruxelles" is one of the best one in Europe. The structure is really big, and it has more than four pavilions dedicated to a part of the history of our planet: from dinosaurs (the part I enjoyed most) to the ancient cavemen, with the human-anatomy too. The ideal place where to spend one entire day from the morning to the late evening. I heartily recommend!
Zach Klein | Jun 12, 2018
Excellent Gallery of Humankind (human evolution) exhibit. It was the best I've seen. Great dinosaur exhibits. Good evolution exhibit. Worth a visit for sure. First Wednesday of the month is free starting at 13:00.
Thiago Guimarães Osório | Aug 19, 2018
A very good museum. It's not that big or with a lot of expositions but the ones that they have are really good. The dinosaurs expo is the big deal. Very well organized and with a lot of pieces, is a great place for kids too. The evolution of humankind is unbelievable. Extremely well explained with a lot of content to read. The entrance is 6 euros if you are a student.
Garry Lim | Aug 9, 2018
What an amazing place. My family and I spent an entire day here exploring every floor hoping to find another area we haven't been to before because we didn't want to leave. From archeological finds, dinosaur remnants, history on geology, minerals, evolution of animals, the list goes on. The entry fee is negligible. If you plan on visiting Brussels for a week this is definitely one of the spots you should hit up.
wannes Verwimp | Aug 17, 2018
Really magical place for children who love dinosaurs and animals. The skeletons and fossils are just endless and a lot of variation. It's really cheap and definitely worth it if you're visiting Brussels. I've been there like 4 times now and it's still amazing.
Claude Sciberras | Jul 26, 2018
Our children love this place. Pity a couple of the interactive stations do not work and even something as simple as the brush at the dinosaur sand pit was so used it had no bristles. Small things which could make the experience for kids more fun and interactive.
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