Naturalis 2995609 225974590 2008-07-16T07:55:51Z 195.86.126.148 removed redundant info, "second most expensive building" fact-tagged. '''The National Natural History Museum''', or '''Naturalis''', is the national [[natural history museum]] for the [[Netherlands]], based in [[Leiden]]. It originated from the merger of the [[Rijksmuseum van Natuurlijke Historie]] (abbreviated RMNH) and the [[Rijksmuseum van Geologie en Mineralogie]] (abbreviated RGM) in [[1984]]. In [[1986]] it was decided that the museum had to become a public museum and a new building was built. The new building cost about 60 million [[euro]], making it the second most expensive museum building in the Netherlands.{{fact}} [http://www.naturalis.nl/asp/ Official Website] The museum is open from Tuesday through Friday from 10am to 5pm and on Saturday and Sunday from 10am to 6pm. On Monday it is closed. The entry fee is €4,50 for people aged 4 to 17 and €8,00 for people aged 18 and above. ==Collection== The current museum is known for the numerous objects in its collections. It has approximately 10 million [[zoological]] and [[geological]] specimens. * 5,250,000 [[insect]]s * 2,290,000 other [[invertebrate]]s * 1,000,000 [[vertebrate]]s * 1,160,000 [[fossil]]s * 440,000 [[Rock (geology)|rocks]] and [[mineral]]s * 2,000 [[gemstone]]s * 10,000 objects in an [[education]]al collection The collections are stored in a 60-meter-high tower, a landmark in Leiden, opened in April [[1998]]. ==Exhibitions== Besides its temporary exhibition the museums has several permanent exhibitions: * Nature Theater (Animals, plants, fungi, one-celled organisms, bacteria, stones, and minerals: an impression of nature in all its various forms.) * Primeval Parade (A parade of fossils shows the history of the earth and the development of life.) * Earth (Games and signs inform the visitor about the Earth's complexities.) * Life (It displays how plants and animals live and survive on earth. ) * Earth Inside (For children and their parents to discover in a playful way how nature works.) * Biotechnology (Games and movies show the visitor how essential DNA is to all life processes.) * Treasure Chamber (Special security and storage conditions protect the precious gemstones, including a collection that once belonged to the [[William I of the Netherlands|Dutch King William I]], and the mounted skins of [[Extinct animals|animals that became extinct]] over the past few hundred years.) ==External links== * [http://www.naturalis.nl Naturalis website] * [http://www.naturalis.nl/300pearls 300 Pearls — Museum highlights of natural diversity] {{coord|52|09|53|N|4|28|24|E|display=title|region:NL_type:landmark_source:nlwiki}} [[Category:Museums established in 1984]] [[Category:1998 architecture]] [[Category:Natural history museums]] [[Category:National museums of the Netherlands]] [[Category:Museums in Leiden]] [[de:Naturalis]] [[fr:Naturalis]] [[nl:Naturalis]]