National Museum of Natural History

Description

The repository of the national biological collections with nearly one million specimens in the collections. A flying squid washed up in the 1980s, a mummified 4,000-year-old Nile crocodile, the skull of a false killer whale Pseudorca crassidens, the fossilized head of a crocodilian Tomistoma gaudense, found in the rocks of Gozo, and the tooth of the giant white shark Charcarocles megalodon steal the spotlight in the natural history collections, as well as the birds in the new habitat room. Housed in a unique location in an 18th century palace in the walled city of Mdina, the National Museum of Natural History has a long history to tell. The palace was built in the Parisian Baroque style by the Grand Master Antonio Manoel de Vilhena in 1724 and served as a temporary hospital during the cholera epidemic of 1837, as a sanatorium for British troops in 1860 and as a hospital for tuberculosis patients until January 1956. On June 22, 1973, the National Museum of Natural History was officially inaugurated and opened to the public. He was responsible for the acquisition, collection, display, and preservation of natural history specimens, with a special emphasis on local flora and fauna. The exhibit areas cover a variety of topics including local biodiversity and ecology, geology and paleontology, mineralogy, human evolution, marine fauna, skeletal structures, insects, shells, and birds. All the rooms and halls are dedicated to local nature historians who have contributed to the knowledge of our local flora and fauna. One of the highlights of the museum, a room dedicated to the late Joe Sultana, focuses on the ecological importance of the islands of Filfla, Fungus Rock, St. John’s and St. John’s. St. Paul’s and Comino. The fascinating Habitats Room is dedicated to the first curator of natural history, Giuseppe Despott, offers an overview of typical Maltese habitats, including woods, scrubland, cliffs, valleys and sandy shores, and highlights the diversity of birds and various other wildlife species found in these habitats. . Containing approximately 850 pieces of rocks and minerals as well as several works of art, L. Mizzi Hall displays a small portion of Lewis Mizzi’s extensive mineral collection.

Reduction

-30% discount on the entrance fee. (Valid in all national museums and temples).
-10% off in the store.

Tuesday to Sunday (closed on Good Friday, Christmas Day and Eve, New Year’s Day and New Year’s Day): 09:00 – 16:30