Three natural history museums, three ways to look at life
Naturalis, Natuurmuseum Fryslân and the Natural History Museum Maastricht pair their collections with different autumn activities.
Naturalis in Leiden is both a museum and a biodiversity research institute. It lists 45,521,976 objects in its collection and ten museum galleries. Trix the T. rex stands in the Dinotijd gallery.
Naturalis is open daily from 10 am to 5 pm. It has entrances at Darwinweg 2 and Mendelweg 2. Admission from age four is €18; Museumkaart holders and children aged three and under enter free. Naturalis recommends ordering a ticket online in advance, including for Museumkaart holders.
Natuurmuseum Fryslân in Leeuwarden presents Mummie Mysteries until 22 November 2026. Its animal mummies include a cat found in a crawl space, a rat from behind wallpaper and a bat discovered in a vase. All three belong to the museum collection.
For children, Word een waterheld (Become a Water Hero) runs from 10 to 25 October, with tasks and experiments about saving water. From 10 to 18 October the museum opens daily from 10 am to 5 pm; its regular hours apply after that.
The museum at Schoenmakersperk 2 charges €14 for adults and €7 for children aged four to seventeen. Museumkaart holders enter free. The OnderWaterSafari, for visitors aged four and up, costs an additional €4 per person.
In Maastricht, the exhibition Ontmoet Bèr – Mosasaurus Experience focuses on a mosasaur found in the ENCI quarry. The Natural History Museum Maastricht also offers scavenger hunts during the autumn school holiday. Its website says these activities are free with a valid admission ticket.
The museum at De Bosquetplein 7 opens Tuesday to Friday from 11 am to 5 pm and on weekends from 1 pm to 5 pm. According to its visitor page, adults pay €11.50, visitors aged five to seventeen €7.50, and Museumkaart holders enter free. The museum has renovation plans, but it has announced no closing date.