Around 90 per cent of all species on earth are unknown. The Museum für Naturkunde Berlin is doing everything it can to discover the nameless before they become extinct – in Berlin as well as in the rainforest of Vietnam.
Cosmic dust that falls to Earth can tell us a lot about the history of our solar system. Astrophysicist Jenny Feige collects extraterrestrial particles in the Chilean Atacama Desert to gaze millions of years into the past.
The Ribbeck meteorite fall in January 2024 was a sensation. Experts from the Museum für Naturkunde Berlin are investigating the extraterrestrial rock and coordinating an international research consortium on the Ribbeck meteorite.
Where the city of Chemnitz is located today, there used to be a volcano. When it erupted, it buried a forest underneath it. Ludwig Luthardt, a palaeontologist at the museum, explores the fossilised wood - and can thus reconstruct the climate.
Old expedition diaries, handwritten labels, intricate copperplate engravings, biological specimens – the collection at the Museum für Naturkunde Berlin is brimming with rarities and hidden knowledge. Franziska Schuster helps to unearth these treasures.
Behind the scenes
People, ideas and stories on the journey towards the natural history museum of the 21st century
What actually goes on behind the scenes of the Museum Evolution? In our latest update, Director General Johannes Vogel and Managing Director Stephan Junker discuss progress, challenges and the next milestones.
For more than 150 years, around 45,000 pressed plant parts have been stored in a herbarium that was once compiled by the botanist Johann Schrader. Now the delicate specimens are being given a new lease of life: Over the next few years, they will be restored and digitized.
The Museum Evolution is taking shape: in 2025, key milestones for the museum’s future were reached – from the finalisation of plans for the new sites to visible progress on the construction of the historic main building.
The museum’s collection not only preserves knowledge about the Earth’s past – it also provides answers to questions we have not even thought of yet. Through digitisation, international collaboration and open access, its holdings are increasingly being made available worldwide and harnessed for the research of tomorrow.
The rooms of the Museum für Naturkunde Berlin are steeped in history. The listed building is soon to undergo renovation. Art historian Jutta Helbig is documenting the treasures of the past in order to preserve them for the future.
From automated digitisation stations to the intelligent analysis of collection data: ELIO demonstrates how the challenges faced by natural history collections give rise to digital innovations that find applications far beyond the museum.
Research collections are usually kept out of public view. The special exhibition ‘ZUGvögel – Collection in Motion’ offers a glimpse into the museum’s bird collection and shows how collections enable us to gain an understanding of nature – past, present and future.
What does an elephant skull reveal about Germany’s colonial history? Together with international co-curators, the museum is investigating the origins of its collection and bringing previously hidden stories to light.
Humans are altering nature with all their might. So much so that scientists have identified a new geological epoch: the Anthropocene – the age of humankind. Elisabeth Heyne is building a digital collection of all kinds of everyday things that connect people with this new reality.
Those who believe they have nothing to do with minerals are greatly mistaken. The breakfast was on the porcelain plate – made from quartz, kaolinite, and feldspar.
Astrid Faber is convinced that nature concerns us all. The biologist is committed to ensuring that as many people as possible benefit from the knowledge and collections of the Museum für Naturkunde Berlin.
Citizen science projects are fun. But citizen scientists also face legal questions: Am I insured if I injure myself while searching for wild bees? What about data protection when I map villages? A guide provides clarification.
Nature on the doorstep
Animals, plants and habitats in your local area – and how you can explore them for yourself
Katharina and Parm von Oheimb are united in their enthusiasm for slimy molluscs. They search for snails and slugs in Berlin’s cemeteries to gain new insights into their diversity and way of life.
Which animal has thousands of teeth, no skeleton and only one foot? Which animal can carry both male and female sexual organs and manages to move unharmed over sharp knife edges? That's right, a snail! Snails are often labelled as slimy, boring or even annoying.
The Naturblick app enhances the experience of nature in urban settings. With around 120,000 users, the app is one of the Museum für Naturkunde Berlin’s bestsellers.
Wild bees find nectar and pollen there during the whole summer, as well as good nesting opportunities due to the diversity that exists there. A typical example of a wild bee that is present in fallow areas is the shaggy bee.
When it comes to animals in the city, pigeons rarely find appreciative mention, despite or perhaps because they are so present. The bad reputation of pigeons pushes the actual nature of these intelligent, social and very adaptable birds into the background.
What do we know about biodiversity in Berlin – and where are the gaps in our knowledge? Dr Nike Sommerwerk looks back on three years of the ‘Understanding Diversity’ project and shows how research and society can work together to shape the future of urban nature.
The leaves of trees change color in autumn and fall off at some point - we learn that from an early age. But the fact that the needles of conifers are also leaves and why they do not fall off every autumn in the vast majority of species is usually of less concern to us.
