MuzeeAquarium
The MuzeeAquarium: a surprising experience at the Wadden! A unique combination of a natural history and cultural history collection with an aquarium displaying fish and other marine animals of the Wadden and North Seas.
Have a look now
Natural History
The natural history exhibition illustrates the formation of the Earth: rocks, minerals, soil structure and fossils. The schelpen collection is particularly noteworthy.
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Schelpen
Over the years, the MuzeeAquarium has built up an impressive collection schelpen . It includes schelpen found on Dutch beaches, as well as schelpen from all over the world. The largest and heaviest shell is the baptismal font shell: it is one metre in diameter and weighs 200 kg! -
Geology
How old is the Earth? What is inside the Earth? What does a meteorite look like? These are all questions answered in the geology exhibition at the museum. You’ll look straight into the churning magma, see various minerals and rocks – including some that fluoresce – and view some remarkable fossils. -
Archaeology
The hunebed is the…
Natural History
The natural history exhibition illustrates the formation of the Earth: rocks, minerals, soil structure and fossils. The schelpen collection is particularly noteworthy.
-
Schelpen
Over the years, the MuzeeAquarium has built up an impressive collection schelpen . It includes schelpen found on Dutch beaches, as well as schelpen from all over the world. The largest and heaviest shell is the baptismal font shell: it is one metre in diameter and weighs 200 kg! -
Geology
How old is the Earth? What is inside the Earth? What does a meteorite look like? These are all questions answered in the geology exhibition at the museum. You’ll look straight into the churning magma, see various minerals and rocks – including some that fluoresce – and view some remarkable fossils. -
Archaeology
The hunebed is the first thing that catches your eye in the archaeology gallery. It is the northernmost hunebed in the Netherlands and was found near Delfzijl. The display cases surrounding it provide further insight into life in those days. And behind the hunebed, a landscape is shown on a large screen: this is what the area might have looked like in the time of the hunebed builders. There are finds on display from the Roman period, as well as from the late Middle Ages, such as shoes: even after lying in the ground for centuries, they are still clearly recognisable.
Cultural history
The cultural-historical section covers the ‘wierden’ era and the medieval villages that have since disappeared. It then moves on to the history of Delfzijl as a fortified town, the French period, the Second World War, the post-war reconstruction and the establishment of major industries.
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Shipping
The history of Delfzijl is closely intertwined with shipping. The history of shipping is on display in the Wagenborgzaal: there is a large display case containing 24 model ships, about which visitors can call up information via touchscreens. Topics such as communication and navigation at sea in the past and present, pilotage, the zeevaartschool, shipbuilding, models of Brons engines and a sail-making workshop are presented in this room. -
History of Delfzijl
The fact that Delfzijl was originally a fortified town designed to defend the sea locks is barely visible today. However, the museum houses a model that brings the town’s former contours back into view. Attention is also paid to Delfzijl during the war years (World War II), the reconstruction and the establishment of major industries, when the forecast was still that Delfzijl would grow into a town with 50,000 inhabitants.
Sea Aquarium
The marine aquarium is housed in an original ammunition bunker dating from the Second World War.
Cabinet of Curiosities
The MuzeeAquarium has its origins in a museum that stood in Delfzijl in the 1930s: the Museum of Overseas Trade Relations. The Cabinet of Curiosities still displays remnants of this former collection: from maritime souvenirs to natural curiosities. The Cabinet of Curiosities also tells the story of how a series of collections can grow into a fully-fledged museum.