The Naturhistorisches museum has a much more elaborate facade than any other natural history museum that I have seen. However, on the inside it is almost exactly the same as any other natural history museum and it is because of this similarity that I wanted to write a blog post about it.
So much in Vienna is totally different from America that it was interesting to find a place that, despite its outer appearance, was so set up so similarly to an American museum. I have to preface everything I am about to say with the fact that I am a History major and an art lover. I am not very interested in Geology, Zoology, Paleontology, or Marine Biology so I do not have as much knowledge about all of the exhibits in Natural History Museums as I do about exhibits in Art or History Museums. However, despite my lack of knowledge about the subjects addressed in the Naturhistorisches museum, it seems to me that these exhibits are almost the exact same exhibits that one sees in American Natural History museums. You have your dinosaur bones, your rare rocks, your stuffed animals, your plant specimens, and your marine life samples. Indeed, there were only two items that I found in the Natural History Museum that I had not seen elsewhere. The first was an actual beehive with a passage way to the outside through which the bees could enter and exit. It was actually a truly fantastic display in my opinion. The second unique item was of course the Venus of Willendorf. The fact that this small and unassuming statue is actually from sometime between 24,000 to 22,000 BCE blows my mind. I cannot believe that something that old could still exist and that people that long ago created it is absolutely incredible to me. Even being in the same small, dark room with something that old sent me into a state of historic euphoria. So, on one hand the Naturhistorisches museum was very much like any other natural history museum you could find back in the United States but like all other museums, no matter their location or theme, there were still unique and worthwhile exhibits to go see and experience.
So much in Vienna is totally different from America that it was interesting to find a place that, despite its outer appearance, was so set up so similarly to an American museum. I have to preface everything I am about to say with the fact that I am a History major and an art lover. I am not very interested in Geology, Zoology, Paleontology, or Marine Biology so I do not have as much knowledge about all of the exhibits in Natural History Museums as I do about exhibits in Art or History Museums. However, despite my lack of knowledge about the subjects addressed in the Naturhistorisches museum, it seems to me that these exhibits are almost the exact same exhibits that one sees in American Natural History museums. You have your dinosaur bones, your rare rocks, your stuffed animals, your plant specimens, and your marine life samples. Indeed, there were only two items that I found in the Natural History Museum that I had not seen elsewhere. The first was an actual beehive with a passage way to the outside through which the bees could enter and exit. It was actually a truly fantastic display in my opinion. The second unique item was of course the Venus of Willendorf. The fact that this small and unassuming statue is actually from sometime between 24,000 to 22,000 BCE blows my mind. I cannot believe that something that old could still exist and that people that long ago created it is absolutely incredible to me. Even being in the same small, dark room with something that old sent me into a state of historic euphoria. So, on one hand the Naturhistorisches museum was very much like any other natural history museum you could find back in the United States but like all other museums, no matter their location or theme, there were still unique and worthwhile exhibits to go see and experience.
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