State Natural History Museum (Staatliches Naturhistorisches Museum)

The Natural History Museum in Braunschweig has its origins in the Ducal Art and Natural History Cabinet, together with the Herzog Anton Ulrich-Museum, which was presented to the public by Duke Carl I of Braunschweig and Lüneburg as early as 1754. Thus it is the oldest natural history museum in Germany.

On four floors, the museum offers a variety of insights into nature and geological history. The ground floor, which was redesigned in 2015, mirrors different epochs of the museum's history in its halls. The Treasury shows the last and most valuable pieces from the ducal origins of the collection. The Biodiversity Hall gives  insights into biodiversity and reminds visitors of the extensive display collections of the 19th century. The Discovery Hall invites you to try out for yourself and focuses on today's modern presentation. One of its highlights is the 13-meter-long showcase, which presents a meadow cut with all the biological life forms that can be found above and below ground.

The detailed, internationally known dioramas show native animals in their natural habitat, including the last lynx that was shot in the Harz Mountains in 1818. The reconstructed skeleton of the "Braunschweiger" dinosaur Spinophorosaurus nigerensis, the popular bird flight line in the Bird’s Hall, which was newly opened in 2020, and highlights such as the skeleton of the Steller’s manatee are also attractive.

In the basement of the museum, aquariums and terrariums display live fish, reptiles and amphibians.