The Natural Sciences Museum of Barcelona (Catalonia, Spain) is an institution with more than 140 years of history that preserves a heritage of more than three million specimens in the fields of mineralogy, petrology, palaeontology, zoology and botany. This fund has been enriched thanks to private donations, agreements with the Zoological Park and the natural parks of Catalonia, and also through the museum’s own research. Its mission aligns with the Buffon Declaration, agreed in 2007 by 93 natural history institutions from 36 countries and on all continents, which states that science is vital to the sustainable management of biodiversity and ecosystems and, through this, for the survival of the human population on this planet. From 2022, its director is Carles Lalueza Fox.
The museum was created in 1882 following the bequest, patronage and will and testament of a local business broker, Francesc Martorell Peña (1822–1878), who left on this purpose to the city of Barcelona his personal archaeological and natural history collections. At creation in 1882 the museum was named Museo Martorell de Arqueología y Ciencias Naturales (Spanish for “Martorell Museum of Archaeology and Natural Sciences”) and was the first building in the history of Barcelona to be designed as a museum. Very soon, the archaeological, botanical and zoological collections were relocated elsewhere and the name was changed to Museo Martorell de Geología (“Martorell Museum of Geology”). Another building that is also located in the Parc de la Ciutadella, the nearby Castle of the Three Dragons, built in 1888 for the Barcelona Universal Exposition, was assigned to the Museum of Natural Sciences of Barcelona in 1917 and started exhibiting the zoological collections as of 1920.
Both buildings, the Geology Museum at the Martorell Museum and the Zoology Museum at the Castle of the Three Dragons, closed their doors to the public in 2010, although they still belong to the same institution, the Museum of Natural Sciences.
Today the Natural Sciences Museum of Barcelona is distributed in different locations located in Ciutadella Park, Montjuïc Mountain and Forum Park.
Natural Sciences Museum of Barcelona: Headquarters of the Museum’s public programs. Permanent exhibition Planet life, a journey through the history of life and evolution. It houses temporary exhibitions, an event hall, classrooms, a space for children aged 0-6 (Science Nest), workshops and a media library. This museum was called the “Blue Museum” from 2011 to 2017.
Martorell Exhibition Centre: Home to the permanent exhibition A not-so-natural story: The public and the natural sciences, from cabinets to museums. It will be a space for reflection to rethink and review the history of scientific culture in the city of Barcelona. There is also a space representing the Parc de la Ciutadella.
Nature Laboratory: Scientific headquarters since 2010, in the Castle of the Three Dragons. The former Museum of Zoology is a space for research, study and conservation of the museum’s collections. The documentation center is being created, a specialized library and the space will also give rise to a music library, Natura Sonora.
Jardí Botànic de Barcelona: Botanical headquarters and public activities and exhibitions. Center of reference for the conservation of Mediterranean flora. Collection of live plants and seeds. The various gardens recreate natural ecosystems from areas of the world with a Mediterranean climate.
The museum that is properly called “Museum of Natural Sciences of Barcelona”, at the Forum Building (Parc del Fòrum), erected in 2004. When inaugurated in 2011, this museum was named el Museu Blau (Catalan for ‘the Blue Museum’) but changed to its current name in December 2017.
Address: Plaza Leonardo Da Vinci, 4-5, Sant Martí, 08019 Barcelona, Spain (Forum Building).
Working hours
Sunday 10 AM–8 PM
Monday Closed
Tuesday 10 AM–7 PM
Wednesday 10 AM–7 PM
Thursday 10 AM–7 PM
Friday 10 AM–7 PM
Saturday 10 AM–7 PM
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