Museum of Natural Sciences of Belgium

A herd of Iguanodon skeletons, unearthed in 1878 in a coal mine at Bernissart in southern Belgium, forms the centrepiece of the Museum of Natural Sciences. Several are mounted upright in a glass case, as they have been displayed for generations. They anchor a dinosaur hall that ranks among the largest in Europe. Signs use the French and Dutch names, Muséum des Sciences naturelles and Museum voor Natuurwetenschappen.

Beyond the dinosaurs, the galleries trace the history of life and the natural world. There are halls on evolution, on human biology and origins, and on present-day ecosystems. A long gallery of whale skeletons and a room of minerals and meteorites are among the other highlights. The museum is part of the Royal Belgian Institute of Natural Sciences, a research institution whose roots go back to the eighteenth-century collections of Charles of Lorraine.

With nearly 400,000 visitors a year, it is especially popular with families and school groups. The museum stands in the Leopold Quarter, close to the European Parliament.