The Royal Belgian Institute of Natural Sciences (Museum of Natural History) was founded in 1846 from the collection of Prince Charles Alexander of Lorraine. This museum is home to the largest exhibition of dinosaur skeletons in Europe, with the most important items being 30 fossilized Iguanodons (from the mid-Jurassic period) discovered during an 1878 coal mining operation in Bernissant, Belgium. Reportedly, there are over 30 million artifacts belonging to the museum, but not all are exhibited at the same time. The interactive nature of almost all the exhibits makes this a wonderful place for children (of all ages) to visit.
This whale skeleton hanging from the ceiling greets visitors to the museum.
The butterfly exhibit is exquisitely presented.
A bald Cyprus tree stump from 65 million years ago.
Part of the Dautzenberg shell collection.
One of the best preserved crocodile fossils.
The star of the museum, the Iguanodon skeleton.
Thirty Iguanodon skeletons were unearthed during an 1878 coal mining operation in Bernissant, Belgium. This exhibit depicts how the skeletal remains were positioned 332 meters down in the mine.
When scientists find skeletal remains, they usually are scattered about. Trying to put them into their proper places is like trying to solve a Puzzle.
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