In four thematic rooms: Form, Color, Movement, and Time, the permanent exhibition of the Natural History Collections — Aesthetics of Nature — builds a bridge between art and nature. With its focus on the observation and description of the natural world, the exhibit traces the history of earth and its evolution, putting the richly shaped and colorful diversity of nature on display.
The colours and patterns of the natural world surprise, enthuse and amaze us. The extravagant plumage of the male peacock, the purposeful whiteness of the polar bear’s fur, the tree bark pattern of a butterfly’s wing, or eyes inspiring fear — these are all the result of evolutionary development. Over a thousand butterflies, hundreds of birds and plentiful specimens of mammals and plants provide visitors a fascinating look at the seemingly infinite strategies and rules of camouflage and concealment, attraction, and repulsion in the natural world.
The variety of forms appearing in nature is seemingly inexhaustible — mussels, whose shells are delicately laid in folds or formed in massive cubes, snails that decorate their shells with the shells of other snails, crabs with specialized legs for swimming, others with impressively powerful claws. There are even starfish that look like flowers and sea urchins whose quills appear so fragile we forget how dangerous they are.
Everything that lives, moves, be it in water, on land, or in the air. In this room, displays put visitors right in the action with freestanding preparations. Here, you will experience the power and elegance of animals in motion — swimming, running, and flying.
Fossils from the region provide insight into the evolutionary history of contemporary plants and animals. Four-hundred million years ago, when Hesse was still a great sea, it was populated by sponges, coral, sea lilies, mussels, snails, and squid.
Breathing life into the museum’s nature displays, whether plant or animal, preparations form the heart of the natural history exhibits. While the goal of the displays can and should not be to replicate nature exactly, it is essential to present exhibits as true to nature as possible.
Museums are places of collecting, preservation, and presentation. They have an educational mission and are also research institutions. Museum Wiesbaden, for example, is home to the international information point for the robber fly family.
How many legs does the tarantula have and how do the stripes run across the zebra's body? We can look at many things in passing and yet little of it sticks in our memory. To actually recognise an object requires special techniques. The eye and the hand remain the most important aids. Used correctly, they help to deepen perception and expand memory.
Museum Wiesbaden offers a variety of programs for all ages, from guided tours to workshops for preschools and schools, to teacher training and programs for students, private groups, or families with children.
