Naturalis reopens: researchers in the museum
A rejuvenated Naturalis opens its doors to the public on Saturday 31 August. Many researchers from Leiden University also work at the Naturalis research centre. Their workplace has also undergone a major facelift, and museum visitors can now watch their every move.
The renovation of Naturalis, which took over two years, also included the research departments and labs. The researchers are now all in the same building, which is also home to the labs. But an even bigger change is that the research itself is much more visible in the new museum.
Researchers at work in the museum
In the LiveScience room, visitors get a peek at the work of researchers: here they can see what is going on in the research institute. This is the only room with windows, which means that the scientific research at Naturalis is literally on show. Researchers will sometimes do some of their work ‘live’ in the room. This could mean preparing the bones of the recently excavated triceratops or researching possible new species. But it could also mean discussing their work with other researchers all in front of museum visitors
Leidsch Dagblad newspaper spoke in depth with Scientific Director Maaike Romijn about the new workspaces for researchers ‘in’ the museum. Read more [in Dutch].
Naturalis and Leiden University
Naturalis Biodiversity Research Centre is the national research institute in the field of biodiversity. Over 120 researchers work there, a number of whom also work at Leiden University. Six Leiden professors work at Naturalis: Peter van Welzen, Nicole de Voogd, Koos Biesmeijer, Menno Schilthuizen, Tinde van Andel and Erik Smets. What is more, the researchers also often work together with researchers from institutions such as the Institute of Biology or the Institute of Environment Sciences, but also the Leiden Instituted for Advanced Computer Science.