Dead Animal Day

This saturday, May the 25th, the Natural history Museum in Rotterdam was dedicated to "de dag van het dode dier". The day of the dead animal.

The McFlurry hedgehog

This wasn't a particularly sinister event, rather more a celebration of animals that have found a second life in the museum. The ´animals with a story´ took center stage, but there was also attention for the regular collection. The museum is after all full of dead animals.

Modern Nature

If one follows the intended path through the museum, instead of scooting to whatever exhibit strikes one's fancy as I did, this is the last of the thematic exhibit areas.

The focus here is clearly regional, emphasising the specific nature of the province of Limburg. The first part is preoccupied with unusual species; wolves, lynxes and boars. These are clearly the biggest attention grabbers, but there are some nice displays in the current nature section as well.                                                                                                                                                                                                          

The brown museum

There are two ways to get to the 'brown museum', if you take the regular route you are presented with this peculiar room at the end of your tour. As a desert, or an afterthought. 
But it is perhaps better to enter it from the opposite end.

Het bruin museum (The brown museum), click to enlarge.

After hanging up your coat, instead of walking back towards the entrance to enter the museum from the 'proper' direction you can move forward. Taking a right at the coffeeroom you find yourself at the foot of a wooden stairway that leads directly to the brown museum.