GUM - Gents Universiteitsmuseum

About the museum

The GUM builds on more than two hundred years of university history. Ghent University was founded in 1817 by King William I, who donated several teaching collections, including on zoology, medical instruments and archaeology. Over time objects, models and research material were added, so that the university now holds more than 400,000 heritage objects.

At the beginning of the twenty-first century the collections were scattered across, among others, the Museum of Zoology, the Museum of Morphology, the Museum for the History of Science, the Archaeological Museum, the Ethnographic Collections, the Museum for the History of Medicine and the Museum Dierick. Around 2010 the plan for a joint museum took concrete shape; it was given a place on Campus Ledeganck. In 2013 the collaboration De Gentse Universitaire Musea followed, which was to realise the Gents Universiteitsmuseum.

Since March 2020 the general public can visit the GUM, in the middle of the Ghent Botanic Garden. The permanent exhibition shows objects from different disciplines, such as biology, archaeology and criminology, not by subject area but around key words such as Chaos, Doubt and Imagination. Every two years a new temporary exhibition opens, including artistic research. The Botanic Garden, with around 7,500 species and greenhouses, is free to visit.

Highlights

• Permanent exhibition with objects around Chaos, Doubt and Imagination
• Selection of top pieces from the academic heritage collection, from a thylacine to a Dogon mask
• The Botanic Garden with around 7,500 species; outdoor garden and greenhouses free to visit
• Family games Professor TWIJFEL and the onderZOEKTOCHT
• Guided tours in Flemish Sign Language with deaf guides

Permanent exhibitions

• Permanente tentoonstelling GUM – The permanent exhibition presents objects from various scientific disciplines in dialogue, structured around Chaos, Doubt and Imagination.
• Plantentuin Gent – The Botanic Garden, with its outdoor garden and greenhouses, contains around 7,500 species of plants and trees and is free to visit.

Founded

2013

Operated by

Universiteit Gent

Director

Marjan Doom

Admission & discounts

Free admission: Ghent residents: on Late Donderdag (except in July and August) and on the first Sunday of the month.

The ticket also gives access to the current temporary exhibition. You can buy a ticket at the entrance or book in advance; the museum prefers to operate cashless. Free admission with, among others, the MuseumPassMusées (also sold at the desk), CityCard Gent, press card, ICOM card and for Friends of the Botanic Garden. The outdoor garden and greenhouses of the Botanic Garden are free to visit every day.

Accessibility

• Wheelchair accessible: no information
• Elevator: no information
• Accessible restroom: no information
• Accessible parking: no information
• Service dogs welcome: no information
• Tactile models & exhibits: no information
• Sign language tours
• Easy-to-read materials: no information
• Audio description: no information

The museum offers an accessibility guide from Toegankelijk Vlaanderen and wants to support visitors with specific needs, such as a wheelchair or a Flemish Sign Language interpreter, in advance. Drop-in tours and group guided tours in Flemish Sign Language with deaf guides are possible. A visual step-by-step plan and a sensory box with fidget tools, free to borrow, help with preparing for and processing stimuli; the museum is generally dark, with focused lighting. The museum texts are in Dutch and English. People with limited mobility who want to visit the Tropical Greenhouse should contact the museum in advance. The TriVelo bicycle taxi brings less mobile visitors to the museum.

Kids & families

Great for kids & families

• Family tours & workshops
• Activity booklet, scavenger hunt or kids’ audio guide

Children are welcome; the museum texts are aimed at children from age 12. For younger children there are two free family games: Professor TWIJFEL (from age 4) and the onderZOEKTOCHT (from age 9), plus a family game for the BORDERS exhibition. The family tour ‘Op reis door het GUM’ (from age 6, 90 minutes, up to 15 participants) can be booked for €100 on top of the ticket. In the summer holidays, children can search for treasures in the Botanic Garden with Vlieg. Since summer 2024 the museum has carried the Museumpas label ‘approved by and for children’. Children always visit the Botanic Garden under the supervision of an adult; some plants have thorns or are poisonous.

Getting there & parking

The GUM and the Botanic Garden lie outside the low-emission zone, about 5 minutes from the Gent Centrum exit of the E40 and E17, and close to S.M.A.K. and MSK at the Citadelpark. For bicycles there is a bike park in the Ledeganckstraat; the Botanic Garden itself is not accessible to bicycles.

Amenities & dining

• Museum shop

The museum shop is to the left of the GUM entrance, just after the Botanic Garden, and is free to access during opening hours. There are restaurants and cafés nearby; the museum gives tips on its website.

Events & venue rental

• Spaces for rent
• Corporate events

Up to 200 guests.

Available for hire are the FORUM on the fourth floor (145 m², up to 90 people, with a view of the Botanic Garden) and the PALMARIUM, a greenhouse in the middle of the Botanic Garden (440 m², up to 200 people), which is available only from 1 May to 30 September.

Plan your visit