After attending the SVP conference in Berlin in November 2014, I was fortunate enough to travel around Germany and Switzerland visiting various natural history museums. It was a palaeontologists dream holiday! Over the coming months I'll write up reviews of these museums. First up, the Naturhistorisches Museum Basel.
Naturhistorisches Museum - Basel, Switzerland
Although a little more expensive than the German natural history museums I'd visited previously, if you find yourself in Basel, Switzerland, the Naturhistorisches Museum Basel is a worthwhile visit.
Built in 1842-49 by Melchior Berri, the Naturhistorisches Museum is a gorgeous mix of columns and colours. The building is listed as a heritage site of national significance on the Swiss Inventory of Cultural Property of National and Regional Significance.
Naturhistorisches Museum - Basel, Switzerland
Although a little more expensive than the German natural history museums I'd visited previously, if you find yourself in Basel, Switzerland, the Naturhistorisches Museum Basel is a worthwhile visit.
Built in 1842-49 by Melchior Berri, the Naturhistorisches Museum is a gorgeous mix of columns and colours. The building is listed as a heritage site of national significance on the Swiss Inventory of Cultural Property of National and Regional Significance.
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The collections cover a range of topics, from zoology and entomology, to mineralogy, anthropology, osteology and palaeontology. I spent most of my time wandering the fossil galleries: while there is a hall devoted to dinosaur fossils and replicas, mammal fossils aren't left out, with large areas devoted to elephant and horse evolution as well as some lovely Chalicotherium and Megantereon models.
Skulls of the order Carnivora, arranged by dietary preferance
 Dinosaur egg from the Yunnan Province, China |  A Plateosaurus skull, squashed post-fossilisation |  Adult Megantereon life reconstruction |  Adult Chalicotherium life reconstruction |
Cave bear skull (Ursus spelaeus)
The display information in the dinosaur hall is perfect for school kids, where the information in the mammal fossil halls are a little more in depth. Well, from what I could tell, as I can barely read any German!
So if you are interested in zoology or palaeontology, and are particularly fond of mammal fossils, I'd recommend a visit to the Naturhistorisches Museum Basel.
So if you are interested in zoology or palaeontology, and are particularly fond of mammal fossils, I'd recommend a visit to the Naturhistorisches Museum Basel.
Museum Details
Naturhistorisches Museum Basel
Augustinergasse 2
CH 4051 Basel
Tel.: +41 61 266 55 00
Mail: nmb@bs.ch
Open Tues-Sun, 10am to 5pm.
Naturhistorisches Museum Basel
Augustinergasse 2
CH 4051 Basel
Tel.: +41 61 266 55 00
Mail: nmb@bs.ch
Open Tues-Sun, 10am to 5pm.
