Naturalis Biodiversity Center — Attraction in Leiden

Staying locally at Duinrell we were aware of an impending rainy day so planned ahead and booked up the museum.

WOW!

Whilst not cheap (€70 for a family of 4 plus the additional ‘Rexperience’), if nature is a passion you are in for an absolute treat. Even if you aren’t a keen naturalist I would be amazed if you did not find at least a few things that grab your attention.

On the lowest floor is a lab where we interacted with conservators performing a live taxidermy of a buzzard. We also spoke with a palaeontologist recently returned from Wyoming who was slowly cleaning the fossilised frill from a triceratops that he had helped unearth. All staff were more than happy to chat and clearly loved their jobs. They also spoke to us in English which made us feel fully included in the experience.

It was then off to the ‘Rexperience’ (an add on to the entry price) which took us back millions of years to come face to face with a living and breathing mother T-Rex (as real an animatronic as you will ever see).

Moving on the museum explores life from its beginnings to end with each floor exploring a different aspect of the natural world. Death, courtship, human evolution, ice age, dinosaurs - it really has it all.

Our visit lasted 3 hours and we could have stayed even longer but closing time meant we had to cut things short. Visiting with a 6 and 10 year old I can say that each were involved in all exhibits and at no point lost interest.

For me the hall of taxidermy animals was quite overwhelming as it provided an insight into rapidly declining ecosystems and endangered species. There were no dioramas, just the incredible diversity of animals to marvel at. I felt saddened that for many in the future this might be the only opportunity to see some of the creatures that once inhabited the world they live in.

I will return one day to spend even more time and will recommend a visit to everyone and anyone that I know is visiting the area.

As an aside the building itself is really quite something. I still haven’t figured out how the main atrium is supported and does not simply fall onto the heads of visitors.

A must see attraction and a definite for a family with children. Don’t just save it for a rainy day, stick it on your ‘things to do’ list when...

As you enter this museum, the first thing you'll notice - especially when walking up the flights of stairs or looking out from a balcony - is the architectural marvel that is the astonishingly beautiful building itself. The next thing you'll notice is that each space in the museum has it's own theme and is rather minimalistically dressed. Just like the building, however, each of exhibition spaces has been conceived to be visually impressive, a goal that is certainly achieved with the sometimes surrealistic designs: whether it's the giant dinosaur skeletons; a view of the ice age Netherlands that makes you think about the human impact on this landscape; or a fun and interactive way to explain sexual selection with bright colours, sound and dance. Equally impressive is the section on life and - in particular - death, which becomes an almost otherworldly experience. A visit to Naturalis is therefore sure to not disappoint: leaving the museum again you're left with the feeling of having visited a modern art exposition!

This, then, might simultaneously be the biggest critique of the museum: the visuals heavily predominate over the educational elements, while the dark windowless spaces make it difficult to take qualitative photographs without a tripod. That's not to say that there's no educational value to be found, though, as the plentitude of informative and fun multimedia-experiences and hands-on activities is sure to engage both young and old; just that the traditional informational text can be hard to find at times. Also somewhat disappointing was the fact that so few of the Netherlands' mesozoic fossil riches could be found on display, even the section on dinosaurs contains both nothosaurian remains and a full American mosasaur...

Still, all in all, I can certainly recommend a visit. You'll not be disappointed by this beautiful museum and its...

I would say it's one of the museums that you should definitely visit. Starting with the amazing architecture of the building itself it's worth a while. Of course they have an unimaginable collection of species. You can easily spend 3 to 4 hours there.

It's better to start at the second floor. You will definitely enjoy the visit with family and friends. If you are an elderly using a wheel chair or with small babies in the stroller you can take the whole tour with ease. Although I must say that if you have kids of age where they are running around say, younger than 3 or 4 it might feel hard to manage them and cover the museum for yourself as a parent.

The cost for the ticket is reasonable and you have to take another 2 € extra for the Rexperience. They say the light and sound effects are suitable for kids above 8 years of age and if you are there with younger kids they do tell you that it is not advised. Our experience says it's not really a big deal. I feel you can go in with kids if all ages. It's not as dramatic as they elaborate. Anyhow your choice.

The whole museum has 9 floors with a restaurant on the 9th floor. Floors 0, 2,3,5 & 7 have exhibits. The stairs or elevator doesn't have access to the in between floors. Entry to the museum and to the Rexperience are allowed only on the allotted slots you chose while taking the ticket. The Rexperience is on the 3rd floor. If you are on any other floor it would take 5 to 10 mins to reach the 3rd floor depending on how fast you walk. Consider more time if you are using the elevator to move from one floor to another. There are restaurents on the other floor too along with...