MfN (Museum fuer Naturkunde)
& BGBM (Botanical Garden and Botanical Museum Berlin)

The Museum für Naturkunde, officially „Leibniz-Institut für Evolutions- und Biodiversitäts-forschung" (Leibniz Institute for Evolution and Biodiversity Science) is a research museum within the Leibniz Association. It is one of the most significant research institutions worldwide in biological and geo-scientific evolution research and biodiversity. The museum collections comprise more than 30 million objects relating to zoology, palaeontology, geology and mineralogy, which are important for science as well as for the history of science. The collections date back until the 18^th century and include objects that have been compiled continuously for over 200 years, often by expeditions and field work. Some of the most spectacular items are:

• the Berlin specimen of the primeval bird Archaeopteryx lithographica
  
  
• the dinosaurs from the Tendaguru excavation site (including Brachiosaurus brancai)
  
  
• the original piece of uranium on which its first scientific description was based
  
  
• the Bloch Collection from the 18^th century, probably the oldest preserved fish collection in the world

As part oft he collections, the Museum has also an animal sound archive containing approximately 120,000 animal sound recording. There is a department of historical research, which hosts an extensive collection of historical writings, documents, bequests, images and biological models as unique source material for the history of the subject areas covered by the museum. The library of the Museum für Naturkunde Berlin goes back to the 15^th century and contains 369,000 items (including maps and separate).

The large exhibitions in the Museum, in particular the new Permanent Exhibitions, give the public an insight into current research. Original research items and specimens are on display, supplemented by various resources such as posters and animations. An audio guide is also provided. Our visitor figures reach 500,000 per year and the exhibitions are complemented by extensive educational programmes for all ages. Website: www.naturkundemuseum-berlin.de

Museum Entrance		The Dinosaur hall of the exhibition		The new wet collection of the museum in the exhibition

The Botanischer Garten und Botanisches Museum Berlin (Berlin Botanical Garden and Botanical Museum) is a plant paradise of world importance with a history of over 300 years. It was constructed between 1897 and 1910, under the guidance of architect Adolf Engler, in order to present exotic plants returned from German colonies. Today, the garden is part of the Free University of Berlin.
The Botanical Garden comprises an area of 126 acres and hence is one of the world´s largest and most important gardens. About 20,000 different species of plants are cultivated here. In the 39 acres of the plant-geography section you can travel all the way around the Northern Hemisphere, and in the 42 acre Arboretum and taxonomy section you can get an insight into the relationship among woody and herbaceous plants. The greenhouse complex consists of 16 houses open to the public and offers the possibility to travel through tropical and subtropical vegetation. In addition, the Botanical Garden provides the opportunity for the visitor to recuperate in a very pleasant environment amidst the beauties of nature, and to learn more about the multifarious world of plants.

The Botanical Museum with a large herbarium (Herbarium Berolinense) and a large scientific library, is attached to to the green garden. There is no other botanical museum of this kind in Central Europe. Here you may find fossil treasures that are hard to see in the open air. Plants that you can only observe for a few weeks or, in some cases, for a single day in the garden, can be observed undisturbed the whole year in the museum. Structures that are invisible to the naked eye can be discovered here through enlarged scale models. The museum houses also the advice service on wild mushrooms, the library, the scientific collections such as the herbarium and laboratories for research.The research in the Botanical Garden and Botanical Museum is to a large extent based on the scientific plant collections, comprising taxonomic research, through which plants are identified, described, named and classified, as well as the phylogenesis of plants and the mechanisms of their evolution. Research focusses on the following model groups of flowering plants and microorganisms: Asterales, Caryophyllales and Diatoms, as well as on particular regions of the world: Europe and Mediterranean area including the Caucasus and Cuba and the Caribbean region. The results of these activities include contributions to Floras, identification guides (including genetic ‘Barcodes’) and concepts for the conservation and sustainable use of plant diversity. Website: www.bgbm.org/

A view into the Botanical Garden		Greenhouses		Herbar