Previous exhibitions

Whales & dolphins
from 14th October 2009 to 29th August 2010

Click here to visit the website :
in Dutch - in French

In the temporary ‘Whales and dolphins’ exhibition you are immersed in a fantastic world – that of mammals which have become fully adapted to life in the water. Unfortunately though, they have come to symbolise all endangered species. Whales and dolphins is a temporary exhibition in French and Dutch. From 14th October 2009 to 29th August 2010.

If the popup doesn't show, click on the followings links to view the site in a new window : in Dutch - in French

Survivors of the X-TREME - from October 15th 2008 until August 30th 2009

The X-treme exhibition will take you to the most extreme spots on our planet. In places where people have to use all sorts of cunning tricks to survive, even for a short time, we can find animals and plants that have made survival into a veritable art. These are super specialists that have acclimatized to heat, cold, drought, permanent darkness or lack of oxygen.

In X-treme you will find out who the survival champions are and how they have adapted to these extreme environments. Discover what it means to live in these areas: get first-hand experience of how cold the ice wall is, feel the wind-chill effect on your own skin, find your way through dark spaces in our bat cave and climb Mount Everest like a true mountaineer. Will you survive this exhibition?

X-treme is an environment of interactivity and experience; an exhibition for all ages!

Murder in the Museum (*) - from 14 December 2006 till 2 September 2007

Investigate a mysterious crime!

Tuesday 9.15 am. Our director has been discovered murdered in his office. What happened and why?

Mission: Play the part of the investigator. Subject the crime scene to a thorough analysis. Enter a professional laboratory and follow the traces (objects, prints, blood stains, corpse…).

Unmask the murderer and bring him to justice.

Get acquainted with a fascinating and multifaceted universe: criminalistics. It applies various (natural) sciences, such as physics, chemistry, biology, anatomy, ballistics, to assist the Judiciary in its quest to find out whether the suspect is guilty or not.

Murder in the Museum is an informative, exciting and interactive exhibition that captures everybody’s imagination!

If the popup doesn't show, click on the following link : website of the Murder in the Museum exhibition (*)

This exhibition is available for rent.

Heart at Work - from 14 December 2005 till 5 November 2006

Your heart averages 37,000,000 beats a year. It might even go faster if you're in love! How many times has your heart beaten so far? How does it work? What is blood pressure? What are a heart attack, a haemorrhage and other heart troubles? Are you at risk? Can you prevent cardiac diseases?

Embark on a journey through your own body and discover a fairly undiscovered terrain: your heart and blood vessels. Following the course of veins and arteries throughout the human body, you'll discover several aspects:

• The heart and its functioning
  The different parts of the heart. Does a human heart differ from that of other animals?
• Cardiovascular system
  Every heartbeat sends blood throughout your body. But how does the blood circulation actually work?
• Blood, a priceless gift
  It supplies essential information about your health (blood pressure, blood group, rhesus factor, blood group compatibility...). Giving blood saves lives.
• Listening to your heart...
  ... is thinking about your health. Learn more about cardiovascular diseases and how to cure or prevent them.
• History of the knowledge of our heart
  Travel through time, looking for scientists that contributed to the understanding of the structure and the working of the heart and the blood vessels.

'Heart at work' is an enthralling adventure and an interactive didactic exhibition for all who care about their health, and who wish to know more about their body and its functioning.

From 10 years on.

Simply mussels (*) - from 4 May 2005 till 2 July 2006

Simply Mussels is an intriguing, entertaining, and surprising exhibition!

The picking and eating of Mussels out of a large pot is something you need to experience once in your life! Thanks to this unconventional exhibition, you will discover the many more treasures pearling out of this unusual shellfish!

As far as its beauty is concerned, let's trust the eye of the talented artists who have already been seduced. Figure out it's economic potential through man's farming tradition, know-how, industry, and use of sustainable development. Then, consider the Mussels' numerous travels through Europe! Did you know that all the Mussels consumed in Belgium were imported?

What about their role in the environment? Filtering water all day long, a Mussel stores up everything that passes through its shell. So, can we eat them everywhere and at all times?

And, last but not least, Mussels will be recruited as future medical assistants for state-of-the-art research! What a social climbing!

Still not convinced? Don't worry, the Mussel has more than one trick in its shell! Once it has undergone your thorough examination, and told you all about its siphons, gills, mother-of-pearl, and - yes - about its pearls, you'll hunger for more!

From Art to the lab, from the sea to the table: Simply Mussels, an exhibition to savour with relish!

CreepyCrawly - You are never alone (*) - from 14 October 2004 till 15 May 2005

Experience the creepy crawly lives that go on around you, on top of you and inside of you.

There's fun and games for the entire family, both for those who like spiders and those who are a little bit frightened of them. Pay a visit to your closest neighbours – observe them, play with them, and compete with them.

Discover the fascinating and thought-provoking universe of the CreepyCrawly creatures. From flies and ants a hundred times thicker than one strand of your hair all the way to bacteria and fungus a hundred times thinner. Take a hair from your head and notice the thickness of it: can you imagine a life existing on one strand of hair?

Make your way through an ant colony, and determine what feels nice and what feels disgusting. Watch maggots eat a steak, test your knowledge and learn about your phobias – or examine the dust bunnies from your own. Spy on your bed mates – did you know that your body is their home? Step into the reduction machine and meet your tiny new peers if you dare – then send an electronic postcard to your friends. Find out why food grows long hair.

Come and earn your Creeponaut certificate.

It's creepier and crawlier than you think.

CreepyCrawly – you are never alone...

Olympic Games for Animals (*) - from 25 May 2004 till 26 September 2004

Athens 2004: the Games of the XXVIII Olympiad.

In this Olympic Summer, the Museum of Natural Sciences is organizing its own Olympic Games for Animals. Running, jumping, swimming, shooting: these are only a few disciplines where animals are the champions. Come and see a lot more. But you will also have the opportunity to compete with these animals. Give it a try! In doing so, you will understand why the leopard is a redoutable sprinter and a flee an outstanding jumper.

These Olympic Games have even an asset: you can observe the "looser's revenge". The hippopotamus is the worst jumper, but under water it is hard to beat. And after you tried to crawl like a snail, you might admire this slowcoach.

Join the animals in their Olympic Games.

In the Museum of Natural Sciences, summer 2004.

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