Museum of Natural Sciences

If you love dinosaurs, this is the place for you. This Brussels museum situated close to Park Leopold features one of the most important dinosaur galleries in Europe. Star of the show is a complete herd of giant iguanodons. As you make your way through the different floors of the Royal Belgian Institute of Natural Science, you’ll also get to explore an immense collection demonstrating many different areas of natural sciences.

The museum’s raison d’être basically are the Bernissart iguanodons which were discovered in a Belgian mine in 1860, constituting one of the earliest and most important prehistoric discoveries to date. Interestingly, the skeletons were arranged in the wrong position, as the scientist of that time still held incorrect views about the posture of iguanodons. The methods used at the time implicate that it would be next to impossible to alter the positions without damaging the bones. Nevertheless, they’re still very impressive to look at and you can’t help but marvel at their immense size.

As you make your way through the four different floors of the museum, you’ll discover other sections with information on birds, insects, mammals, crystals, the history of the museum…

Another highlight is the hall demonstrating the evolution of men, with real life models of our ancestors. This visual and interactive exhibit makes it easy for kids to understand human evolution.

As the museum also boasts exquisite temporary exhibitions, you’ll always lean something new when coming back.
The museum puts strong emphasis on education, providing lots of accessible and modern resources to learn more about what you’re actually looking at. There’s also an element of sensibilization as they point out the impact of humanity on wildlife and how they have had to adapt. The description plaques are available in English, Dutch, French and German.

Practical information

• Address: Rue Vautier 29, Brussels
• More information on the website of the museum of natural science
• Price: 7 EUR for adults, 6 EUR for students, 4,50 EUR for children under 18. Every first Wednesday of the month it’s free after 1 PM.
• It isn’t allowed to take bags in so make sure you have a euro for the lockers that are by the museum admission point past the reception.
• This museum usually participates in the Brussels Museums Nocturnes (mid-September to beginning of December), which is an occasion to visit the museum in the evening at a reduced price.

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