After extensive modernization, in which inclusion and accessibility were central themes, the Dortmund Nature Museum presents itself in a new look. Located directly next to Fredenbaumpark in the north of Dortmund, it houses a collection of biological specimens, fossils and minerals, mainly from the Ruhr region and Westphalia.
On two floors, the new permanent exhibition shows local nature in the present and in the geological past. In addition to many original objects, the focus of the exhibition is on staging, dioramas and media stations, discovery and participation and the sensory experience.
In the biological exhibition, visitors can embark on a journey from Dortmund's city center via the outskirts of the city to the Ruhr and the Sauerland reservoirs. They can immerse themselves in the various habitats with their animals and plants. Several aquariums are integrated, including a large circular tank with a circumference of 21 meters, a height of three meters and around 90,000 liters of water, in which the local fish fauna can be admired eye to eye.
The geological exhibition brings to light times long past. It takes visitors through various epochs of the earth's history: from the last ice age to the time of the dinosaurs and the Carboniferous period, when hard coal was formed, to the origins of our solar system. A special highlight is the only fully assembled skeleton of a woolly mammoth cow in Germany. The mineral cabinet shows the richly shaped and colorful world of minerals.
The permanent exhibition is complemented by a variety of special exhibitions on the themes of nature and the history of the earth. The new museum café "Café Kreidezeit" offers a relaxing end to a visit to the museum.
