national museum of natural history (naturalis)

This museum in Leidenprovides the general public with easy access to knowledge on nature and its huge diversity and beauty. It also provides insight into the processes going on in nature. You can get information and experience from exhibitions here and at other locations, and also at a distance via webcams, digital lessons and websites.

Interactive "playrooms" in Dutch, English and French are very noisy with all the kids and really entry-level, focusing more on ethics than sciences (why DNA research,...). Collections are nice but not that extensive and only the animal names are translated ( English and Latin). Don't expect to learn too much.

Great visit last week. Lots of things to do. It's all about nature and earth from dinosaurs to the layers of the earth. But also about "nice to know" things on animals in all forms and shapes. Only comment is on busy days the elevator takes ages to make use of and the stairways are too busy.Also the signs to navigate in the museum could use some work.

This is absolutely one of my favorite museums in Leiden. Super collection of stuffed animals and skeletons. All very nicely set up and with plenty of things to learn for both young and old. When our kids were young we would go there several times a year. With family and friends. And all the kids we brought along always had a fun time too. The last time I went there was on invitation of the museum, free tickets for the neighborhood. Drinks and snap included! And special lectures about the T-Rex that they have found in the US and the museum wants to buy. I really hope they are able to achieve this as it would be a great add on for Naturalis.

This museum is very diversified. You can learn about anything between Earth's birth and future biotechnology. The different rooms cover different topics and inbetween you'll find Freek's favourite pieces that are explained with additional audio and video material. Unfortunately this is only available in Dutch, which is not handy for tourists with small children (although they can still watch the videos). Most of the info plates had English tranlations and the exhibition about senses was in French too. The stuffed animals somehow aren't as boring as those I saw in other museums and it was fun walking thorugh and searching for animals I didn't know. In the cozy cinema there is a Dutch movie about a fossil found by a fisherman which was nice and funny.I think it is great that they have Freek, a young scientist, to introduce children to different topics. He makes even the boring parts of the museum exciting.

Nice place to go. Even in the winter time! Is exciting for children, and afterwards have a little snacks inside! I know you will be enthousiastic with the big animals.

Every now and then there are nice exhibitions worth the visit. I like this place and the taxidermy collection they have is impressive. It's a great museum for a small town like Leiden and worth the visit, just don't expect to be wanting to come back any time soon. But isn't that the case with most museums? Just check the exhibitions regularly.

Naturalis is worth the short train ride from Amsterdam. It's on the small side but the exhibits are well done. It's by no means one of the best natural history museums in the world, but it is good and we were glad we visited.

This is to some extent a traditional natural history museum with lots of bones and skeletons, gems and minerals and taxidermied animals. But it is also a museum in transition to one with more interactive exhibits and more opportunities to interact with real scientists. Where this is most evident is on the 4th and 5th levels in the Biotechnology, Super Senses and Live Science areas. More here is hands-on and you can watch and talk to a scientist as he or she prepares a bird specimen, for example. They have a huge collection of natural history specimens and this is a strong focus of all that they do. All the signage is in Dutch which is limiting for most other visitors; although there is an English language brief paper guide.

I´ve been in many natural history museums and this is a nice one, but it´s not as fancy as others. I was expecting a larger collection in general. They have way too many fossils in my oppinion. Another bad thing is that all information signs are only in Dutch.

Temporary exhibits are a bit hit or miss, sometimes great, sometimes dull. Visit the animal restaurant with small children and feed the animals!

The significant investment in this museum is clear to see - holding the kids (and adults) attention for hours on end, with imaginative layout, interesting and informative exhibits. And lots of fun. Perfect for a rainy day but also highly recommended any other time.

The museum has a broad collection of stuffed animals, fossils, minerals and insects (among other things). Many descriptions were in English and very informative. We spent around 2 hours inside and visited every section. Kids will enjoy this museum as well because there are many activities and experiments that will tickle their curiosity

We visited on a Saturday morning & it was teeming with children. It was probably better for families with children of about 5 - 15 years & the interactive parts were mostly only in Dutch.Interesting but rather noisy for older visitors.

I went with my 13 year-old brother and we really enjoyed it! All the animals, insects and prehistoric bones. Very educational and interesting. For foreigners it is not very interesting because everything is in Dutch. Elevator was for the disabled only, which is of course understandable but after like twenty stairs being able to use it would have been nice. Definitely worth a visit!