Museum Evolution
We are renovating, making our collection accessible and creating new spaces for research, exchange and collaborative learning.
Insights into the research collection
Mammal Skulls
Step into one of the Museum für Naturkunde Berlin's historic research halls for the first time and discover how scientific collections are built up, how we study them, and how we interpret them from new perspectives today.
Behind the scenes of research
For the first time, the Museum für Naturkunde Berlin is opening a listed historic research hall to visitors. As part of the ‘Museum Evolution’ project, we have carefully restored the room and made it accessible for guided tours. The tours also take visitors to the research collection of Deer & Bovids.
This reveals what was previously hidden behind closed doors: a scientific collection that has formed the basis of zoological research for generations.
Unlike in a traditional exhibition, we have only selectively re-staged the room. The historic metal cabinets, the original furniture and the scientific organisation of the objects have been preserved. This allows you to experience an authentic workplace where research, the collection, museum history and dialogue come together directly.
Skulls tell us about evolution ...
The museum holds around 66,500 skulls from all over the world in its Mammalia (mammals) sub-collection. The shape of the skulls reveals how animals lived, what they ate and how they are related to one another. Researchers continue to use the collection to this day to identify species, trace evolution and investigate changes in biodiversity.
As a public collection, the historic Skull Hall combines scientific work with the museum experience. You will gain an insight into a part of the collection that was not created for exhibition purposes, but has been actively used for research for more than a century.
... and of their own history
However, the skulls tell more than just the story of mammals. Many of the objects found their way to Berlin via colonial networks during the German colonial era. That is why we have developed the new exhibition in collaboration with co-curators from several African countries.
Through an international call for contributions, researchers and museum experts shared their perspectives on selected objects. They shed light on the people, places and historical contexts behind the collection items and broaden the natural-science perspective to include questions of provenance, colonial acquisition contexts and accountability.
In this way, the Public Collection demonstrates that natural history objects tell many stories – about evolution as well as the history of the museum and how knowledge is created collaboratively today.
What does ‘colonial contexts’ mean?
Many natural history objects found their way to Berlin during the European colonial era. They were often collected in connection with colonial rule, scientific expeditions or economic exploitation. They therefore tell us not only about nature, but also about the historical power dynamics of their time.
The Museum für Naturkunde Berlin is researching the history of its collection and making it transparent. Together with international partners, we are developing new perspectives on objects from colonial contexts and are committed to dealing with this heritage responsibly.
The insights gained from this work are also incorporated into the openly accessible Guide on dealing with natural history collections from colonial contexts, which the museum has developed in collaboration with partner institutions. It supports museums in critically examining their collections, presenting them transparently and developing them further in dialogue with the communities of origin.