OUR MUSEUMs in Bonn and Hamburg

In our museums in Bonn and Hamburg, visitors can explore the origin of life and how it has changed on our planet. They immerse themselves in the beauty and diversity of the animal kingdom and the history of the earth and at the same time become aware of the fragility of the ecosystems under the influence of us humans. The exhibitions in the museums take up the scientific findings and questions of the future which the researchers at the Leibniz Institute for the Analysis of Biodiversity Change (LIB) deal with.

In Hamburg, three museums – the Zoological, Geological-Paleontological and Mineralogical Museums – house the Hamburg collections and exhibitions which were previously amalgamated under the name Centre of Natural History (CeNak). An innovative, new natural history museum (“Evolutioneum“) is being planned in the HafenCity in Hamburg. Until then, the three current museums will remain open to visitors. Step by step, we take our visitors along with us on this path and present small excerpts from the vision of the Evolutioneum in the exhibition.

Founded by Alexander Koenig in Bonn in 1934, Museum Koenig has dedicated itself to zoological research and education from its very beginnings. With the laying of the foundation stone in 1912 and the opening on 13 May 1934, Koenig’s lifelong dream of a major natural history museum in Bonn came true. Today, under the motto “Our Blue Planet – The Living Network”, the Museum Koenig draws attention to the need for species conservation. The topics of evolution, biodiversity and taxonomy take on special significance in the context of nature conservation – and vice versa.

Our joint special exhibitions

  • LIB, Press releases, Special exhibitions

    “Nature in black and white” and “The Bergisches Land” – nature photography at the Museum Koenig Bonn

    From Berchtesgaden to the Bergisches Land and Mecklenburg to sub-Saharan Africa: 16 photographers from the Eschmar Nature Photography Meeting will be showing their work as part of the 19th Eschmar Nature Photography Days at Museum Koenig Bonn on March 16 and 17, 2024.

    Learn more
  • Museums, Press releases, Special exhibitions

    Biomorphic worlds: Where art and science merge

    Exciting and fluid at the same time, close to nature and abstract: Bielefeld artist Henning Bock interprets specimens from the Museum Koenig Bonn’s mammal collection, combining art and science.

    Learn more
  • Museums, Special exhibitions

    “Expedition Schneeleo” exhibition now at the Museum der Natur Hamburg

    Look a snow leopard in the eye, guess its voice, catch prey on a monitor: NABU’s “Expedition Snow Leopard” exhibition follows the endangered “Spirit of the Mountains” across snowy heights and rocky crevasses into its twelve range countries with a mix of analog and digital hands-on activities.

    Learn more
  • A view of the exhibition section “Savannah – the changing “paradise”” in the venerable atrium of the Museum Koenig Bonn.
    Baboons in the exhibition section “Savannah – the changing paradise” at Museum Koenig Bonn.
    The beauty of the birds is easy to see in our exhibitions.
    Emperor penguins in the exhibition area “Arctic – Antarctic” of Museum Koenig Bonn.
    An elephant cow and her cub are at the waterhole of the exhibition area “Savannah – the changing paradise” at Museum Koenig Bonn.
    In the exhibition area “Rainforest – the undergrowth” there is a very realistically designed large showcase with chimpanzees. A film installation on a chimpanzee safari complements the theme (not visible in the photo).

    Museum Koenig Bonn

    Learning about the threat to and fragility of biodiversity under the motto “Our Blue Planet – The Living Network”

    Since 1994, the Museum Koenig Bonn has pursued the exhibition concept of “Our Blue Planet – The Living Network”. Understanding our “life in the global network” makes us aware of the need to protect, preserve and research biodiversity on our planet and to recognise how dependent humans are. In the exhibitions, visitors learn why they themselves are part of nature and gain insights into the most important ecosystems on Earth.

    The exhibitions “Savanna – Changeful Paradise”, “Central Europe – Discover Homeland”, “Desert – World of Extremes” and “Rainforest” are designed in such a way that visitors can get up close to the exhibits. They should see themselves as part of nature: a species key allows the unlabelled exhibits in the “Savanna” exhibition area to be identified and the visitors to recognise themselves as Homo sapiens.

    “Rainforest – the Understorey” presents ground-level zones of an African lowland rainforest in a lifelike diorama. Typical representatives of the animal and plant kingdoms are presented, and biological characteristics explained. Visitors are guided through a refrigerated tunnel from the tropical rainforest into the polar regions of the sub-exhibition “Arctic / Antarctic – Survival in ice”.

    The “Freshwater – Life in Flow” exhibition sets a counterpoint with living animals. Large aquariums with a wide variety of water-course habitats form the centrepiece of the exhibition.

    Large and small special exhibitions complement the themes and are often realised together with scientific cooperation partners. A series of varied exhibition highlights deals with the questions of what our world used to look like, what it looks like now and how it could be shaped in the future.

    The dioramas – large display cases – enjoy world renown.

     

    CONTACT

    Museum Koenig Bonn
    Adenauerallee 160
    53113 Bonn

    Tel.: +49 228 9122-102
    Tel.: +49 228 9122-0 (general office)
    Fax.: +49 228 9122-212
    E-Mail: info@leibniz-lib.de

    To the site plan

    OPENInG HOURS

    Tuesday, Thursday, Friday, Saturday and Sunday: 10 am till 6 pm
    Wednesday: 10 pm till 9 pm

    PRICES

    Day ticket: € 6.00 regular / € 3.00 reduced

    To the Museum Koenig Bonn

    Polar bear “Smilla” – symbol of climate change.
    Anthropocene – the “age of man” is highlighted here.
    “Antje”, the most famous walrus in Germany.
    “Finni”, the Hamburg fin whale tells his life story.
    The pointed crocodile, unfortunately on the Red List of endangered species.
    The “Big Five” – as the big game hunters called the iconic mammals of Africa.
    Exhibit in the Mineralogy: Rhodochrosite crystals (red, manganese carbonate) on quartz crystals (SiO2) from the Sweet Home Mine, Mount Bross, Alma Mining District, Park Co., Colorado, USA.
    The mural designed by students is an eye-catcher in the newly designed exhibition rooms of the Geological-Palaeontological Museum.

    Museum of Nature Hamburg

    Discover the diversity of natural history at three locations

    The exhibitions in Hamburg are divided over three buildings: the museums for zoology, geology-palaeontology and mineralogy. In the future, they will merge into a planned, modern museum of nature, the Evolutioneum. With this plan, the City of Hamburg and the LIB are pursuing the goal of presenting the existing collections in a new research and exhibition centre, addressing current issues and questions. The Evolutioneum is intended to set new standards in the field of exhibition experience and mediation and to provide a broad public platform for the pressing questions of the Anthropocene.

    The Centre of Natural History emerged from the Natural History Museum Hamburg founded in 1843 by local citizens. After the magnificent building was destroyed in World War II, the partially rescued collections came into the possession of the University of Hamburg in 1969. Here they are the subject of research in the Hamburg Museums and a small selection presented to the public. An innovative, new natural history museum, an “Evolutioneum“, is to build on this great tradition and tell a wide audience of the development and change of life on our planet in a multifaceted and exciting way.

    The Zoology presents the diversity of our animal kingdom. From the giant whale skeleton to the tiny insect, visitors discover the fauna in all its sizes, shapes and colours. They get to know the biodiversity of our planet Earth and learn how great and far-reaching our influence as humans is on the ecosystem.

    Rocks, crystals and cosmic visitors: the Mineralogy presents the broad spectrum of minerals. We display a selection from the University of Hamburg’s 1,500 exhibits – from gold and silver to diamonds and moon rocks. A massive iron meteorite weighing 424 kilograms and one of the largest antimonite crystal groups in the world are among the biggest attractions of the permanent exhibition.

    In the Geology-Paleontology, the story of the Earth is retold: visitors can learn about the geological processes of the Earth and its climate changes, as well as its evolution and the development of biodiversity. Among the most popular exhibits, which come from the extensive collections of the University of Hamburg, are dinosaur fossils, amber insects and primeval ancestors of the horse.

     

    CONTACT

    Museum der Natur Hamburg – Zoologie
    Bundesstraße 52
    20146 Hamburg

    Tel.: +49 40 238317-555
    E-Mail: museumdernatur@leibniz-lib.de

    To the site plan

    OPENING HOURS

    Tuesday till Sunday
    10 am till 5 pm
    Mondays and on holidays closed

    PRICES

    free

    News regarding our Museums

  • LIB, Press releases, Special exhibitions

    “Nature in black and white” and “The Bergisches Land” – nature photography at the Museum Koenig Bonn

    From Berchtesgaden to the Bergisches Land and Mecklenburg to sub-Saharan Africa: 16 photographers from the Eschmar Nature Photography Meeting will be showing their work as part of the 19th Eschmar Nature Photography Days at Museum Koenig Bonn on March 16 and 17, 2024.

    Learn more
  • Museums, Press releases, Special exhibitions

    Biomorphic worlds: Where art and science merge

    Exciting and fluid at the same time, close to nature and abstract: Bielefeld artist Henning Bock interprets specimens from the Museum Koenig Bonn’s mammal collection, combining art and science.

    Learn more
  • Museums, Special exhibitions

    “Expedition Schneeleo” exhibition now at the Museum der Natur Hamburg

    Look a snow leopard in the eye, guess its voice, catch prey on a monitor: NABU’s “Expedition Snow Leopard” exhibition follows the endangered “Spirit of the Mountains” across snowy heights and rocky crevasses into its twelve range countries with a mix of analog and digital hands-on activities.

    Learn more