natural history museum (natuurhistorisch museum)

I visited the museum several times over the years. Last week I visited it once more, this time with a German friend of mine. Although all displays are in Dutch, he was able to read up on the information by means of a booklet. These booklets are available in English, German, and perhaps also in French.The greatest highlight of the museum is the skeleton of the famous Mosasaurus, referred to as 'Bèr' by the Maastrichtian inhabitants. The skeleton is situated in a glass case in the garden. Although Bèr is most renowned in Maastricht, its fossil was not the first one to be found in the area. During the late eighteenth century the very first Mosasaurus fossil was found, which was then confiscated by the French. Mention of this happening is made in the central hall of the museum, including a replica of the very skull which nowadays resides in the Louvre.The main exhibition starts on the ground floor and takes the visitors on a geological journey through time, beginning at around 350 million years ago. It even teaches the fact that Maastricht was once home to a mountain range! Quite interesting, given the fact that during contemporary times all we have left is a bunch of hills.On the second floor the main exhibition continues into modern times. Additionally there is a broad range of stuffed animals, representing the local fauna. At the end of the exhibition there is one room which serves as cabinet of curiosities.Although not a large museum, it provides an exceedingly interesting insight concerning prehistoric Maastricht.

It is one of the old museum of this kind in our country, still good to see the effects of this founding fathers (and women!) as one layer in this. And yes: new people/ youth is attracted by new ideas to attract. But happily it is in their combination were this place exites: It gives interested youth the opportunity to learn more about Dinosaurus and more. And other experienced people like to come back, study and be more surprised after 10 times visit: "why didn't I see this before"? Was it my problem not seeing it? Is this fascinating "thing" new in the collection?

This museum offers interactive activities for kids, interesting displays inside and outside of the main building, plus - you can buy delicious " in house" honey - beehives are in the museum garden ! Try it : )

This museum is a bit hidden but well worth a visit. Top pieces are Mosasaurus Ber and the skeleton of a giant turtle. A nice museum!

A cool little museum with lot's of interesting artefacts and exhibits but for a city which is so international I expected the museum to be at least bilingual. All the info was in dutch and there was only one little handout that you could get from the main desk which had the english info on it. If I was visiting on my own this probably would work and i'd be able to navigate my way around the museum in english but there was 3 of us, all none dutch speakers so this one little english card wasn't very practical at all.

This is a well laid out museum in the centre of Maastricht with plenty of exhibits. The museum also has a temporary exhibition space, auditorium, cafe, small shop and a lovely garden with beehives.

We used our Museumkaart to visit this museum as we'd been to the North Caves and were told the bones of a Mosasaurus found in the caves were on display there. We were given a booklet in English and were able to navigate our way around the museum well. The displays were of a wide variety of items so if bones aren't your thing there are stuffed animals, plus a few interactive things like a wheel showing you how the world has changed through the ages.

So this is a tiny museum located in one of the many historical buildings of Maastricht. The doors of the entrance portal are quite impressive. The permanent exhibition looks and feels like it's straight from the early 90's, but is entertaining nonetheless. I loved the birdcall panel and the live beehive they keep there. Since I speak Dutch I could read everything, but it'd be nicer if there would be more information available in English, given that a lot of foreign people come to visit this town. When I was buying my ticket to get in the employee behind the counter was acting like I should be lucky I could even visit their museum, which did not make me feel very welcome at first. The vast treasure of natural history which lies in this museum is priceless, and you can learn a lot from it. Unfortunately, the way it's presented is not optimal. So, if they were to update the looks and descriptions of the exhibition and refresh their customer service a bit, it'd be a better museum.

A nice little museum BUT for an international town there was virtually NO help for anyone who does not read Dutch. The reception had ONE loan-out printout giving brief details in English, but none of the exhibits had any translation into English, French or Spanish, let alone anything more exotic.

There is much about this small museum to like. Local (48) bird calls to hear, many local animal species presented. Of course, the Mososaurus. It takes about an hour and was well worth the visit. Even my teenagers liked it!

Lovely little museum in a charming part of town. Museum is an excellent visit for families and makes a slight change to other attractions Maastricht has to offer. Our son thoroughly enjoyed it, it's all in Dutch but they provide an English booklet for the visit. Wonderful service at the desk and a nice way to spend an afternoon with a coffee in the garden. Be prepared for pleasant noise though, it's right next door the the Music faculty of the University!

We managed to happily spend a couple of hours enjoying the exhibits - particularly of interest was the new 'Mosasaur CSI' exhibit - with two research scientists actively working on real fossel fragments in the exhibit hall. The English guidebook allowed us to wander the small exhibition halls while still being able to enjoy the translations and therefore gained much more out of the museum than we would have done without it.The fossil exhibits are very good.The stuffed animals are hilarious and a great source of ammusement!!The museum is small but interesting. I wouldn't plan more than a couple of hours for a visit due to its small size.

Small museum with some outdated displays of stuffed animals. Interesting display of a recently excavated aquatic dinosaur, you can see it being treated and cleaned and talk to the person doing it.

This was a nice museum and I was pleasantly surprised at the different species that were present! It was nice to also see how it transformed through the ages. I would recommend this to families with kids!

This place is a little hidden treasure, slightly offcentre, but within 10 minuten by foot from the center. The walk itself is actually very pleasant, it takes you thru a beautiful historical part of Maastricht, with soms very lovely places where you can have lunch or go for a drink. These are the places where the locals meet. The museum was dirt cheap and we've spent allmost 2hours there. It's not very big or modern, but the expositions are very well set up with clear explanations in Dutch and English. It offers the right amount of interactivity, combined with a good offer on historical facts and nicely set up objects. There's a lot to see, but it doesn't feel cramped, also it has a beautiful garden with all sorts of herbs and a beehive. For those of you who have kids, there's even a separate space for them to play and draw. This place offers great value for your money and is definately a must see in Maastricht!