MuseOs

About the museum

MuseOs is the life’s work of the biologists Luc Tyteca and Leentje Vandenhoudt. For more than thirty years they built up a unique collection of skulls, skeletons and fossils of vertebrates, with particular attention to comparative anatomy. In Koksijde-Dorp they set up their own museum building for it. The first corners, such as the pointed gable with antelope horns, were already tackled in 2012; the official opening followed on 24 October 2015.

The museum specialises in the osteology of the five classes of vertebrates. Most of the collection consists of mammals, whose relationships the museum wants to show down to species level. A display cabinet on the ground floor shows the 25 orders of mammals; ten display cases and five walls then each treat a different group or theme, such as birds, reptiles and giant amphibians.

The exhibition includes three large skeletons that the team built itself: an elephant, a rhinoceros and a Kodiak bear. They hang from steel cables and stand without a visible metal frame. According to the museum, around 1,200 skulls and 30 skeletons were on display in early 2024.

Highlights

• More than a thousand skulls of vertebrates
• Self-built skeletons of an elephant, a rhinoceros and a Kodiak bear
• Overview cabinet with the 25 orders of mammals
• Walls with horns and antlers
• Touch corner on the second floor

Permanent exhibition

• Schedels, skeletten en fossielen van gewervelde dieren – Ten display cases and five walls show skulls, skeletons and fossils, mainly of mammals, with an overview cabinet of 25 orders and three large self-built skeletons.

Founded

2015

Operated by

MuseOs vzw

Admission & discounts

You can pay in cash or with Payconiq; bank cards are not accepted. For groups there is a combination ticket with De Vrienden der Blinden, the training centre for guide dogs for the blind.

Accessibility

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

On the second floor there is a touch corner where objects may be touched. Elsewhere the displayed objects may not be touched.

Kids & families

Great for kids & families

• Hands-on stations

Young and old discover how unique every animal is. Children under 6 may enter only with an adult; in the touch corner they may touch objects.

Getting there & parking

The museum hasn’t published any information on this.

Amenities & dining

• Coat check

Coat hooks are free to use without obligation; backpacks stay on the ground floor. Drinks offered (coffee, tea, fruit juice, water) are consumed on the ground floor.

Events & venue rental

The museum hasn’t published any information on this.

Plan your visit