Besuchende im Eingangsbereich der Sonderausstellung "ZUGvögel – Eine Sammlung in Bewegung" im Museum für Naturkunde Berlin

Insights into the Research Collection

ZUGvögel – Collection in Motion

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A collection takes flight

The historic bird collection tells stories of war and change, but also of our Museum Evolution. This special exhibition presents the collection as an ongoing process between preservation, research, and dialogue with society.

Nowhere else will you get this close to birds: shimmering hummingbirds, a proudly displaying great bustard or the watchful gaze of an owl!

There are around 11,000 bird species worldwide. Our scientific bird collection comprises approximately 200,000 specimens, representing about 80 percent of this diversity. Around 11,500 historic mounted bird specimens are at the heart of the special exhibition ZUGvögel – A Collection in Motion. The exhibition offers the first glimpse of how, through our Museum Evolution, the museum is transforming into an open research museum.

The birds on display are more than specimens – they are witnesses to history. They were already part of the museum when bombs damaged the building during the Second World War and when the Berlin Wall was built and later dismantled. Today, they tell not only the story of bird diversity, but also of the museum itself, of scientific research and of the transformations that continue to shape it today.

 

What are ZUGvögel?

As part of our Museum Evolution – the museum's comprehensive structural, digital and societal transformation – the Historical Bird Hall is being restored in line with heritage requirements. For this purpose, the specimens had to be temporarily relocated.

On this occasion, we cleaned, photographed and carefully packed each object into transport boxes. However, these boxes are not kept behind closed doors; instead, they themselves become part of the exhibition. In a metaphorical sense, the birds themselves thus become migratory birds ("Zugvögel" in German). They are on the move, leaving their familiar place and returning after the renovation to an open collection hall. Historically planned as an exhibition hall, it will, for the first time, become part of our programme as part of the ongoing Museum Evolution.

The exhibition connects this relocation with other stages of the Museum Evolution: digitize! and stacks of transport boxes throughout the exhibition also provide information about the structural renovation, collection development and the transformation of the museum.

 

Developed together with visitors

This transformation also affects the development of the exhibition: more than 350 people have contributed their perspectives, questions, and stories. The result is an exhibition as diverse as the bird world itself – from the history of the collection to preparation and research, as well as biodiversity and conservation.

We developed these themes together and explore them in ZUGvögel:

  • History of a collection: Travel back to the origins of our bird collection – and discover how closely natural history and colonial history are intertwined.
  • Bird species and traits: Find out why the black kite is attracted to fire and how hummingbirds dive headfirst from heights of 40 meters.
  • Historical contexts: Our collection objects also tell stories of power, knowledge, and colonial structures – and how we are re-examining them today.
  • Preparation and conservation: What makes a specimen last for centuries – and why do some birds wear „make-up“?
  • Environmental protection and biodiversity: From vanished species to new success stories – discover why bird conservation concerns us all.
  • Research and collection: How old feathers provide new insights – and how DNA reveals the secrets of bird migration.
  • Humans and birds: What ravens have to do with intelligence, Mozart with a bird, and coincidence with industrial farming.

„We have already achieved a great deal, but we still have much ahead of us – and we are now sharing this with the public. In the coming years, everyone interested can follow our path and contribute.“ – Stephan Junker, Managing Director of the Museum für Naturkunde Berlin

 

On the way to a 21st-century natural history museum

"ZUGvögel – A Collection in Motion" is much more than a temporary exhibition. What began as a necessary relocation has evolved into a new exhibition format that brings together a research collection, public display and behind-the-scenes insights. It offers a glimpse of what an open research museum can be.

The ongoing renovation of the museum's main building is creating the conditions to make this vision a reality. In the west wing, new exhibition, teaching and research spaces, modern infrastructure and barrier-free access to the upper floors will enable additional research collections to be opened permanently to the public. This includes the Historic Bird Hall, a listed heritage space to which the bird specimens will return once the restoration work has been completed.