Staatliches Naturhistorisches Museum Braunschweig

Behind the scenes, this natural history museum keeps hundreds of thousands of specimens, from birds and butterflies to beetles, shells and fossils. Visitors get an aquarium, dioramas that set mounted animals in re-created habitats, and permanent displays on birds, insects, invertebrates and fossils. A special light hall holds the museum's most valuable pieces. It grew out of a ducal cabinet of art and natural curiosities opened in 1754, built on a collection begun in 1666.