The Museum für Naturkunde Berlin is an integrated research museum where internationally recognized collections-based science is carried out. We are an active partnership organisation with national and international networks. For us, research means the systematic and explorative search for knowledge. The collection is our central infrastructure. Teams of scientists from different scientific disciplines conduct cutting-edge research on life, earth and the solar system. The topics range from the development of the solar system and the mechanisms of evolution and we study the diversity and conservation of life, the latter being one of the great global challenges for the future of mankind. In addition, the Museum für Naturkunde investigates the historical, cultural and artistic significance of its objects and collections as well as the interaction between the museum, scientific and other social actors.