Muséum d'histoire naturelle de Gray

About the museum

The museum’s history begins in 1839, when the town of Gray bought a major collection of fossils and minerals from Charles Dubois, the municipal receiver. The collections were later enriched with holdings from local scholars: minerals and crystal models linked to Jean-Baptiste Romé de l’Isle, reference specimens of the paleontologist Louis Édouard Gourdan de Fromentel, collections of the paleontologist Auguste Etallon, and a herbarium of the botanist René Maire.

Behind a façade of wood and stone, not far from the basilica, two rooms on the first floor present a summer exhibition each year on a natural history theme linked to the region. The storerooms recall a cabinet of curiosities: fossils, bones, minerals, more than 1,000 birds and other taxidermied animals, colour engravings from a Buffon edition, a large dinosaur femur, and collections of ammonites and brachiopods.

Highlights

• Taxidermied white-tailed eagle
• Fragment of the Pyramid of Khéops
• More than 1,000 taxidermied birds and other animals
• Monumental dinosaur femur
• Collections of ammonites and brachiopods
• René Maire’s herbarium and engravings from the Buffon edition

Permanent exhibition

• Collections permanentes – Fossils, minerals, herbaria, birds and other taxidermied animals presented in the spirit of a cabinet of curiosities.

Operated by

Ville de Gray

Admission & discounts

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Accessibility

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Kids & families

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Getting there & parking

The museum is on Rue de l’Église, not far from Gray’s basilica.

Amenities & dining

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Events & venue rental

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