Credit: Luxembourg National Museum of Natural History (MNHN – Naturmusée)

On Wednesday 30 September 2026, the Luxembourg National Museum of Natural History (MNHN – Naturmusée) in Luxembourg-Grund announced it will mark its 30-year anniversary with a new exhibition titled “The Secret Life of the Naturmusée: 30 years in the Grund”.

The exhibition will open on Monday 9 October and will offer a behind-the-scenes look at the museum, its collections, its research and the new scientific discoveries made possible by today’s technologies as it opens the doors to its scientific backstage.

According to the MNHN, the exhibition explores what happens behind the displays: how collections are studied, how modern technologies reveal what the eye cannot see, and how a specimen kept in a museum drawer for decades can eventually become the starting point for a new scientific discovery.

With nearly three million specimens forming the basis for research into biodiversity, geodiversity, evolution and environmental change, the Naturmusée is much more than an exhibition venue, and the exhibition intends to show how these collections acquire new meaning through contemporary research.

The MNHN said the exhibition asks: “What can DNA in the air reveal? How can a specimen collected more than a century ago become a scientific discovery today? How can a flattened fossil lead to a three-dimensional reconstruction? And how can genetics help protect one of Luxembourg’s rare plants?”

“Through authentic specimens, experiments, research carried out at the Naturmusée and striking reconstructions, The Secret Life of the Naturmusée tells the story of science in the making — its questions, its methods and its surprises.”

Grounded in the Grund, connected to the world

In 1996 the MNHN moved into the restored former women’s prison in Luxembourg-Grund, marking a new chapter in the museum’s history. Today, it brings together research, public engagement and learning. In 2025, museum data were used in 2,101 scientific publications. Its researchers contribute to international networks including CETAF, GBIF and DiSSCo.

“The Secret Life of the Naturmusée: 30 years in the Grund” runs from Monday 9 October 2026 to Sunday 14 March 2027.

Further information can be found at https://mnhn.public.lu/en/thesecretlifeofthenaturmusee.html.