Thurgau Nature Museum
The Thurgau Nature Museum in Frauenfeld is one of six cantonal museums in the canton of Thurgau . The focus of the exhibitions in the natural history museum is the nature of the region.
history
In 1859, the Thurgau Natural Research Society founded a natural history collection to promote natural research in Thurgau. Initially, the collection was housed in the Frauenfeld canton school. It has been on display in the Luzernerhaus, today's museum building, since 1924. In 1958 the canton took over the building including the museum property. The “Thurgauisches Museum” from 1924 showed not only natural history but also historical items. The “Nature Museum”, which opened in 1972, was ultimately dedicated solely to nature. From 2004 the museum was given a contemporary redesign. In 2005 and 2006 the new permanent exhibition was reopened. The extensive renovation was completed in 2010 with the new special exhibition room and the foyer.
Exhibitions
In the permanent exhibition, over 1500 specimens and objects are presented on two floors, many of them depicting living spaces. Short films and activity stations are also part of the permanent exhibition. On the third floor, three windows give a glimpse into one of the collection depots. The Thurgau Nature Museum shows two to three larger special exhibitions as well as one or two small cabinet exhibitions each year . From spring to autumn, the museum garden offers nature to touch with old cultivated and useful plants. Several hundred different plants are grown on an area of around 300 square meters.
collection
Today, over 100,000 objects are stored in the natural museum's depots: plants, insects, vertebrates and their traces, as well as fossils and minerals, traps, models and display cases. Most come from the canton of Thurgau. The collection is the centerpiece of the nature museum.
The botanical and insect collections are of particular importance in the collections. They make up a good half of the holdings and are scientifically valuable: they have been kept continuously and are very well documented since the collection of the Nature Museum was founded 150 years ago. This makes them important beyond Thurgau. The collections can also be viewed online via databases.
This collection is listed as a category A object on the list of cultural assets in Frauenfeld .
deals
In the Thurgau Nature Museum, around 35–40 different tours and events are carried out each year by specialists. Depending on the possibility, additional objects to touch, audio and smell samples or other material are put together for the tour.
The museum is aimed at families and children with a number of offers: Among other things, you can stroke a fox's skin, examine butterflies or smell the beaver's perfume. In the “Museum for Children” program, the Nature Museum, together with the other five cantonal Thurgau museums, offers events especially for children and families. The nature museum sees itself as an extracurricular learning location for school classes.
Awards
The Thurgau Nature Museum has received awards in recent years for its exhibitions and communication work:
- Prix Expo 2007
- Nomination for the European Museum Prize 2012
- Candidate for the Children's Museum Award 2013