Naturalis Biodiversity Center Explained

Naturalis Biodiversity Center
Native Name:Nederlands Centrum voor Biodiversiteit Naturalis
Native Name Lang:nl
Image Upright:1.15
Map Type:Netherlands South Holland
Map Size:250
Coordinates:52.1647°N 4.4733°W
Location:Darwinweg 2[1]
Leiden, Netherlands
Type:National museum
Natural history museum
Research center
Collections:Zoology, botany, geology
Collection Size:43 million objects[2]
Visitors:339,550 (2015)[3]
Director:Edwin van Huis[4]
Publictransit:Leiden Centraal/LUMC
Parking:On site (paid)

Naturalis Biodiversity Center (Dutch; Flemish: Nederlands Centrum voor Biodiversiteit Naturalis) is a national museum of natural history and a research center on biodiversity in Leiden, Netherlands. It was named the European Museum of the Year 2021.[5] [6] Although its current name and organization are relatively recent, the history of Naturalis can be traced back to the early 1800s. Its collection includes approximately 42 million specimens, making it one of the largest natural history collections in the world.

History

The beginnings of Naturalis go back to the creation of the Rijksmuseum van Natuurlijke Historie (abbreviated RMNH, National Museum of Natural History) by royal decree on August 9, 1820. In 1878, the geological and mineralogical collections of the museum were split off into a separate museum, remaining distinct until the merger of the Rijksmuseum van Natuurlijke Historie with the Rijksmuseum van Geologie en Mineralogie (abbreviated RGM) in 1984, to form the Nationaal Natuurhistorisch Museum (NNM) or National Museum of Natural History.[7]

In 1986, it was decided that the institution should become a public museum, and a new building was designed by the Dutch architect Fons Verheijen. The building's reception area incorporated the 1657-1661 Pesthuis, designed by Huybert Corneliszoon van Duyvenvlucht.[8] Completed in 1998, it was opened on April 7, 1998, by Queen Beatrix of the Netherlands.[9] The new building costs were about €60 million, making it the second most expensive museum building in the Netherlands.

In 2010 the National Museum of Natural History (Naturalis) further combined with the Zoological Museum Amsterdam (ZMA) of the University of Amsterdam, and the Dutch National Herbaria at the universities of Leiden, Amsterdam and Wageningen, to form the Nederlands Centrum voor Biodiversiteit (NCB Naturalis).[10] [11] The combined institute was formally opened as part of the ‘International Year of Biodiversity 2010’ by Education Minister Ronald Plasterk and Agriculture Minister Gerda Verburg.[12] [13]

In 2012 the name became the Naturalis Biodiversity Center.[14] Naturalis has partnered with ETI Bioinformatics in support of the Catalog of Life (CoL), and is working with the Global Biodiversity Information Facility.[15] Funding is in place to support digitization of the massed collections.[16] [17] In 2015, further renovation and expansion was planned, with a proposed design from Neutelings Riedijk Architecten. The Pesthuis (historical Plague hospital) will no longer be part of the complex.[18] However, a lawsuit by the previous architect postponed these plans. The museum, except the research facilities, was closed from September 2018 to mid 2019 due to renovations. Temporary exhibitions were held in the Pesthuis, the former entrance building, during the renovations.[19] The new building was finished in the summer of 2019 with the museum opening again on August 31 of that year.[20] thumb|left|150px|The museum with the new wing re-opened in 2019 Within a year of the opening the museum had to close again in March 2020 due to the COVID-19 pandemic until June 2020. The museum reopened on June 8 with free entrance for essential workers.[21] On July 1 the museum was reopened for the public charging full prices again. It closed again in the winters of 2020 and 2021 due to further national COVID-19 measures.

Naturalis was named the European Museum of the Year 2021 in the annual awards of the European Museum Forum. The jury cited Naturalis as "a very inventive museum with beautiful exhibitions", and also that the museum's "agile ability" to move on and transform itself.[5] [6]

Collection

The current museum is known for the numerous objects in its collections. Prior to the merger with the Zoölogisch Museum Amsterdam and National Herbarium of the Netherlands, there were approximately 10 million zoological and geological specimens in the Naturalis collection. Following the merger with the collections of the Zoölogisch Museum Amsterdam and National Herbarium of the Netherlands in 2010–12, there are now approximately 42 million specimens:[2] [16]

The largest part of the collections are stored in a 60-meter-high tower, a landmark in Leiden, opened in April 1998. Some parts of the collections are stored in a depot in the former museum building at the Raamsteeg in the city center of Leiden.

The Index Herbariorum code assigned to Naturalis is L[22] and it is used when citing housed herbarium specimens.

Explorers

Among the collections at Naturalis are the papers and field notes of a number of early travelers and naturalists, including the following:

Exhibitions

Permanent exhibitions

The museum has several permanent exhibitions:[23] [24]

Current Temporary exhibitions

Past Temporary exhibitions

During the renovation of the main building the former entrance building, the historic Pesthuis, was used for three temporary exhibits from 2016 to 2018.

Virtual Museum

During the COVID-19 pandemic the museum was made virtually accessible. The visitor can move freely through the exhibitions with information and short videos available in Dutch or English to add context to some of the museum's highlights.

Research Institute

Besides its role as a museum, Naturalls is also a scientific research institute collaborating with most Dutch universities. Around 120 researchers and 200 guest researchers are working at Naturalis in nine groups on topics such as biodiversity, botany, marine biology, or geology.[34] Naturalis is a (co-)initiator of several citizen science projects.[35] [36] [37] With the project Arise, which aims to map all biodiversity in the Netherlands, Naturalis is a player in one of the largest Dutch research infrastructure projects.[38]

Visitors

Year Visitors Year Visitors
2008 245,275[39] 2012 251,500
2009 266,000 2013 307,500 (est.)[40]
2010 270,000 2014 300,000 (est.)[41]
2011 273,000 2015 339,550

Naturalis had an estimated 285,000 visitors and was the 15th most visited museum of the Netherlands in 2013.[42] The museum had a record number of 440,000 visitors in 2022[43]

External links

Notes and References

  1. https://web.archive.org/web/20111029134258/http://www.naturalis.nl/en/visit-us/getting-there/ Getting there
  2. https://bioportal.naturalis.nl/dashboard/
  3. Maaike Lek, "Naturalis ontvangt voor derde jaar op rij recordaantal bezoekers", Sleutelstad.nl, 2016. Retrieved 2 June 2016.
  4. http://www.naturalis.nl/en/about-us/organisation/management-and-trustees/ Management and Trustees
  5. Web site: Leiden museum Naturalis is European museum of the year . 25 June 2022.
  6. Web site: Naturalis Wins European Museum of the Year Award . 25 June 2022. 15 May 2021 .
  7. Book: Wood . Bernard. Henry. Amanda. Wiley-Blackwell encyclopedia of human evolution . 2013 . Wiley-Blackwell. Oxford [etc.]. 9781444342475.
  8. Web site: Profile - Naturalis – National Museum of Natural History. Saatchi Gallery. 10 March 2016.
  9. Web site: Naturalis Biodiversity Center. INTK. 10 March 2016.
  10. Web site: Naturalis Biodiversity Center (NBC). Synthesis. 10 March 2016. https://web.archive.org/web/20160311071640/http://www.synthesys.info/tafs/nl-taf/nederlands-centre-for-biodiversity-naturalis-ncb/. 11 March 2016. dead.
  11. Web site: Zoölogisch Museum, University of Amsterdam (ZMA). Electronic inventory of European bird collections. 10 March 2016.
  12. Web site: Minister Plasterk opens the Netherlands Center for Biodiversity. 10 March 2016. University of Amsterdam News. February 9, 2010 . dead . https://web.archive.org/web/20160311070331/http://www.uva.nl/en/news-events/news/uva-news/content/news/2010/02/minister-plasterk-opens-the-netherlands-centre-for-biodiversity.html. 11 March 2016. dmy-all.
  13. Web site: The Netherlands starts the International Year of Biodiversity 2010 by launching new Biodiversity Center. https://web.archive.org/web/20151211023108/http://www.naturalis.nl/en/about-us/press/pressreleases/pressrelease20100128/. dead . December 11, 2015. 10 March 2016. Naturalis. January 28, 2010.
  14. Web site: New logo: Naturalis. The Branding Source. July 23, 2012.
  15. Book: Naturalis Biodiversity Center. Smets. E. Self-evaluation report - Research & Education 2009-2013. 2014. Naturalis Biodiversity Center. Leiden, Netherlands. 11 March 2016. https://web.archive.org/web/20160311065234/http://www.naturalis.nl/media/library/2016/01/Self-evaluation_report_2009-2013.pdf. 11 March 2016. dead.
  16. Oever. Jon Peter. Gofferje. Marc. 'From Pilot to production': Large Scale Digitisation project at Naturalis Biodiversity Center. ZooKeys. 20 July 2012. 209. 87–92. 10.3897/zookeys.209.3609. 10 March 2016. 3406468. 22859880. free .
  17. Heerlien . Maarten . Van Leusen . Joost . Schnörr. Stephanie. De Jong-Kole . Suzanne . Raes . Niels . Van Hulsen. Kirsten. The Natural History Production Line. Journal on Computing and Cultural Heritage . 25 February 2015 . 8 . 1. 1–11 . 10.1145/2644822 . 11 March 2016. free .
  18. Web site: Kromhout. Astrid. The design for our new museum is ready. https://web.archive.org/web/20150424165205/http://www.naturalis.nl/en/news/Vernieuwing/design-our-new-museum-ready/. dead. 2015-04-24. Naturalis. 2015.
  19. Web site: Groot deel Naturalis per 31 augustus dicht voor verbouwing. Unity NU. Large section of Naturalis closed for renovations from August 31.
  20. Web site: Naturalis reopens: researchers in the museum. 2021-04-13. Leiden University. en.
  21. Web site: 2020-06-08 . Naturalis tot 1 juli gratis voor mensen in vitale beroepen . dead . https://web.archive.org/web/20210414130745/https://www.ad.nl/video/kanalen/nederlands-nieuws~c400/series/live-nieuws-update~s2408/naturalis-tot-1-juli-gratis-voor-mensen-in-vitale-beroepen~p150836 . 2021-04-14 . 2021-04-13 . . nl.
  22. Web site: Index Herbariorum. Steere Herbarium, New York Botanical Garden. 29 November 2021.
  23. Web site: Permanent exhibitions. https://web.archive.org/web/20111029134220/http://www.naturalis.nl/en/museum/permanent-exhibitions/. dead. 29 October 2011. Naturalis. 11 March 2016.
  24. Web site: Galleries Naturalis. 2021-04-13. www.naturalis.nl. en.
  25. Web site: Trix the T Rex makes her mark on Leiden in new exhibition. DutchNews.nl. 9 September 2016 . en-GB.
  26. Pim Kaskes, 2016, Unearthing the background of the Naturalis Tyrannosaurus rex : taphonomy, stratigraphy and paleoenvironment, Master Thesis, Vrije Universiteit Amsterdam
  27. https://www.museumfuernaturkunde.berlin/en/museum/ausstellungen/tristan-otto Tristan Otto, Natural History Museum, Berlin
  28. Web site: Nature's treasure trove - 200 years of Naturalis Naturalis. 2021-04-13. www.naturalis.nl. en.
  29. Web site: Over 4,000 jam into Naturalis to see new T-Rex Trix. 2016-09-12. NL Times.
  30. Web site: Eindelijk heeft Naturalis haar T.rex. Trouw. 26 August 2016 . Naturalis finally has her T.rex.
  31. Web site: T. rex in Town - Naturalis. https://archive.today/20171010072752/http://t-rex.naturalis.nl/. dead. 2017-10-10. Naturalis Biodiversity Center.
  32. Web site: Op expeditie met Naturalis - Tentoonstelling - Naturalis Biodiversity Center (Leiden) - WhichMuseum. 2021-04-13. whichmuseum.nl. nl.
  33. Web site: GIF! in Naturalis - Gemist? - Bekijk het op MuseumTV. 2021-04-13. MuseumTV. nl-NL.
  34. Web site: Onderzoeksgroepen en afdelingen Naturalis . 2022-06-08 . www.naturalis.nl . nl.
  35. Web site: 2020-06-11 . Help mee met onderzoek naar paardenbloemen . 2022-06-08 . Natuurmonumenten . nl.
  36. Web site: Naturalis en Staatsbosbeheer werken samen aan kennis over biodiversiteit . 2022-06-08 . Staatsbosbeheer . nl-NL.
  37. Web site: Planten en waterdiertjes tellen voor citizen science . 2022-06-08 . Universiteit Leiden . nl.
  38. Web site: RadioGuys.nl . Naturalis brengt Nederlandse biodiversiteit in kaart met megaproject ARISE . 2022-06-08 . Sleutelstad . en.
  39. Top 55 Museumbezoek 2012, Nederlandse Museumvereniging. Retrieved 2 June 2016.
  40. Chris de Waard, "Naturalis trekt recordaantal bezoekers", Sleutelstad.nl, 2013. Retrieved 2 June 2016.
  41. Bart Dirks, "Leidse musea tijdelijk dicht: even geen publiekstrekkers", de Volkskrant, 2015. Retrieved on 2 June 2016.
  42. Daan van Lent & Pieter van Os, "Musea doen het goed: aantal bezoekers in 2013 fors gestegen", NRC Handelsblad, 2013. Retrieved on 20 December 2014.
  43. Opnieuw bezoekersrecord voor Naturalis Retrieved on 07 March 2024.

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