Explore

Learn about biodiversity and the people who study it

Current

Knowledge Worlds

Urban fallow lands as a habitat

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.

Dr. Elisabeth Heyne sitzt in der ehemaligen paläontologischen Bibliothek vor einem Tisch mit Glasgefäßen, die verschiedene Objekte enthalten; im Hintergrund Regale und Karteischränke.

Portrait

The story collector

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.

Knowledge Worlds

How do bees survive winter?

We are most aware of bees in the spring and summer, when they are most active. But we often do not know exactly how they spend the winter.

Wissenschaftlerin Jenny Feige lächelnd nach rechts blickend.

Portrait

Chronologist of the universe

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.

Knowledge Worlds

How to identify the most common tree species in winter

There is not much to discover in the city in winter - or is there? If you take a winter stroll through the streets of the city, you will be able to see which trees stand along the way, even in the cold season.

Collection Future

Millimeter work on pressed plants

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.

Registrar Meta Friese in der Sammlung des Museums für Naturkunde; vor einem Hirschpräparat stehend, daneben eine Kollegin.

Portrait

The attorney of the objects

Meta Friese is an art historian. She is responsible for ensuring that collection objects are treated correctly and that no damage occurs to them.

Knowledge Worlds

Pigeons in the city

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.

Poträt von Katharina und Parm von Oheimb auf dem Friedhof Wilmersdorf.

Portrait

Team Snail

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.

Collection Future

Collecting the treasure of data

Mareike Petersen holds a doctorate in biology and is a data scientist at the Museum für NaturkundeBerlin – and since November 2023 also Strategic Project Manager of the new WiNoDa project.

Collection Future

Smartphone and energy transition

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 sitzt im Museum für Naturkunde Berlin vor einer Vitrine mit Präparaten; hinter ihr ist ein ausgestelltes Pferd zu sehen.

Portrait

The mediator

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.

Steffen Bock hält einen kleinen 3D-gedruckten Plastikschädel eines Ursauriers in der Hand.

Portrait

The interpreter of prehistory

Steffen Bock brings prehistory into the present. With proto-reptile early tetrapod skulls produced by 3D printing, creative writing workshops, and virtual reality excavations, his team captivates a broad audience with the fossil discoveries of the Bromacker site in Thuringia.

Knowledge Worlds

Things to know about conifers

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.

Mehrere historische Akten und Bücher liegen auf einem Tisch; auf einem Dokument mit der Aufschrift „Acta“ liegt eine Lupe, daneben ein Paar weiße Handschuhe.

Citizen science

The secrets of ancient scriptures

Who can read Sütterlin and decipher manuscripts? Dedicated citizens help to make the stories from the museum's archive accessible to everyone.

Linda Freyberg steht im Grünen zwischen hohen Pflanzen und hält einen Leitfaden zu Rechtsfragen in Citizen-Science-Projekten in den Händen.

Citizen science

Everything that is right

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.

Collection Future

What digestion leaves behind

What does this tiny bone cluster tell us? Arnaud Rebillard investigates (un)digested remains of vertebrates, discovered at Bromacker.

Collection Future

What the explosion left behind

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.

Eine Hand hält ein Smartphone mit der Naturblick-App; auf dem Bildschirm ist das Artportrait eines Buchfinks zu sehen, im Hintergrund ein unscharfer Computerbildschirm mit Code.

Citizen science

Discover urban nature with the Naturblick app

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.

Franziska Schuster und die Bibliothekarin Vivien Bauer betrachten mit Handschuhen eine großformatige historische Karte, die auf einem Tisch in einer Bibliothek ausgebreitet ist.

Portrait

The treasure seeker

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.

Knowledge Worlds

Wondrous molluscs

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.

Jutta Helbig steht in der Vogelsammlung des Museums für Naturkunde zwischen Vitrinen mit präparierten Vögeln und betrachtet die ausgestellten Exemplare.

Portrait

The preserver

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.

Saskia Brunst und eine studentische Hilfskraft arbeiten gemeinsam an einer Transkriptionsstation und betrachten ein historisches Dokument unter einer Lampe.

Citizen science

Making old fonts legible

Transcribing old labels from collection items into a modern, legible form helps to make historical collections accessible.