De Museumfabriek

Current exhibitions

About the museum

De Museumfabriek was created through the merger of three Enschede institutions: the Natuurmuseum Enschede, the Van Deinse Instituut, and the Jannink textile museum. Queen Beatrix opened the new museum under the name TwentseWelle in April 2008; a year later, the VVV named it the most innovative tourist attraction in the Netherlands. Around 2017/2018 the museum adopted its current name.

The building in the Roombeek district is part of the former Het Rozendaal factory complex, one of the few industrial buildings to survive the fireworks disaster of May 2000. The firm SeARCH, led by Bjarne Mastenbroek, combined the old factory with a striking new building including a tower, on top of which the Coenraad ter Kuile public observatory has its dome; the observatory itself dates back to 1969 and the Natuurmuseum of the time.

The museum combines natural history and the region's cultural heritage – a rare combination in the Netherlands. On display are skeletons of Ice Age mammals such as the mammoth, a fully furnished Twente farmhouse, historic looms, and a steam engine from the heyday of the textile industry, as well as presentations on disasters, travel, flight, and legends. The collection, together with that of the Oudheidkamer Twente, comprises 200,000 to 300,000 objects depending on how they are counted, including one of the largest insect collections in the country; in the glass workshop of the Twentelab, visitors can watch collection work in progress.

De Museumfabriek is managed jointly with the neighboring Rijksmuseum Twenthe by a single management team and supervisory board.

Highlights

• Skeletons of Ice Age animals, including a mammoth
• Fully furnished Twente farmhouse
• Historic looms and steam engine with weaving demonstrations (Tue–Thu)
• Coenraad ter Kuile public observatory on the tower
• Twentelab: glass-walled collection and conservation workshop
• Housed in one of the few factories that survived the 2000 fireworks disaster

Permanent exhibitions

• Het verhaal van Twente – Joint presentation with the Oyfo Techniekmuseum in Hengelo on the history of the region from the Ice Age to the textile industry.
• Rampen: Van hagelslag tot vuurwerkramp – Permanent presentation on natural and man-made disasters, up to the Enschede fireworks disaster of 2000.
• De Xylotheek van Lodewijk Napoleon – Wood library from the Age of Enlightenment, in which tree species are documented in book-shaped boxes.

Founded

2008

Director

Caroline Breunesse

Admission & discounts

Free with the Museumkaart; likewise with the VriendenLoterij VIP card and for Friends of the museum. Booking online recommended.

Accessibility

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

Easily accessible by wheelchair, rollator, and mobility scooter; all floors reachable by elevator. Two loaner wheelchairs (no reservation). Accessible parking space on the Stroinksbleekweg near the main entrance. Sensory tours on request (info@demuseumfabriek.nl).

Kids & families

Great for kids & families

• Family tours & workshops

Sees itself as Twente's family museum. Family programs during school holidays; during the 2026 fall break, centered on dinosaurs (building a dino, digging for fossils, stories from an excavator). The former makerspace has been discontinued.

Getting there & parking

Enter "Roomweg" in your GPS, as the address Het Rozendaal is often not recognized. About a 20-minute walk from the station.

Amenities & dining

• Café
• Museum shop
• Coat check
• Lockers
• Wi-Fi

Museum café Lokaal Roombeek in the entrance area (Tue–Sun 11:00–17:00, also without a museum ticket, free Wi-Fi); museum shop; free coat check and lockers.

Events & venue rental

• Spaces for rent
• Corporate events

Up to 300 guests.

VriendenLoterij Auditorium with Twente painting gallery (up to 120 people, dinner up to 80, from €700), museum café Lokaal Roombeek (reception up to 60, up to 300 people together with the entrance hall, from €500), and a meeting room on the eighth floor of the tower; weddings in the neighboring Rijksmuseum Twenthe.

Plan your visit