A year at the museums - No 3: The Natural History Museum

Situated just inside the main gate of Mdina, The National Museum of Natural History is housed in the 18th century Magisterial Palace of Justice. The original building served as the seat of the Università, or local government. In the early years of the 18th century, Antonio Manuel de Vilhena, Grand Master of the Order of St John of Jerusalem, Rhodes and Malta restructured the building at his personal expense and built the present palace, which explains why the palace is still known as Vilhena Palace.

In the early 20th century it was converted into a hospital through the funding of the Duke of Connaught and was officially inaugurated in 1909 by King Edward VII. Throughout the 40 or so years of its existence it was popularly known as Connaught Hospital. In the late 1960s the Maltese government redeployed the building as the National Museum of Natural History and the museum was officially inaugurated on June 23, 1973.

The museum building is a particularly imposing one, which you enter via a large courtyard to the right of the entrance to Mdina, and this may contribute to the fact that many foreign visitors are unaware of the museum's presence. This is a pity, since its contents are a source of considerable fascination to anyone interested in the flora and particularly the fauna of the Maltese islands.

The National Museum of Natural History is the main repository for biological specimens of national interest. The reference collection holds over 10,000 rocks and minerals, over 3,500 birds, birds' eggs and nests, 200 mammals, over 200 fish species and thousands of local and exotic shells and insects. The fossil collection is also worthy of mention, especially the number of large-sized fish, numerous species of sea urchins and other marine fauna discovered embedded in the limestone rocks around Malta.

The museum even featured in the foreign media a few years ago, when a piece of moon rock, on display at the museum, which was stolen - and is, to this day, still missing.

Both life and earth sciences are highlighted in the museum, with particular attention being given to the Maltese islands. The museum focuses mainly on local fauna and displays cover various and diverse topics such as human evolution, insects, birds and habitats, marine ecosystems and a vast mineral collection. The geology and palaeontology displays are regarded as very important collections both locally and internationally.

Within the museum there is also a library housing publications relevant to world-wide as well as local aspects of the natural sciences.

The National Museum of Natural History's opening times are Monday to Sunday between 9 a.m. and 5 p.m. Last admission is at 4.30.p.m. It's closed on Good Friday, plus December 24, 25, 31 and January 1.

There is also a museum shop on the premises with the same opening times.

Admission fees:

Adults €2.33
Senior citizens/juniors/students €1.16
Children (6-11yrs) €0.58
Under 6 years - Free of charge.