Museum Natura Docet

About the museum

Natura Docet goes back to the teacher Johannes Bernardus Bernink, who in 1911 opened a natural history collection to the public in his parents' house in Denekamp. The house is regarded as the first natural history museum in the Netherlands open to everyone. In 1922 the collection moved to an imposing villa on Oldenzaalsestraat; the move was financed with the help of the friends' association “Vrienden van Natura Docet” and wealthy textile families of the region.

After Bernink's death in 1954, his daughter Heleen took over the management. The dinosaur exhibition of 1991 with around 200,000 visitors and the whale exhibition of 1996 with about 60,000 brought huge crowds; additional entrances and a large tent complex were built to cope with the rush. Between 2002 and 2005 the museum was comprehensively renovated with support from the province and municipality, and in 2009 the outdoor area was transformed into an adventure garden.

In 2013 the museum temporarily operated as “Natura Docet Wonderryck Twente” with an adventure garden and landscape centre; since 2021 it has once again been called simply Museum Natura Docet and focuses on running the museum. On display are animals from around the world in the historic “Wonderkamers”, fossils and minerals from the Twente subsoil, and the local fauna and flora.

Highlights

• Wonderkamers: animals from around the world in the arrangement of founder Bernink
• Oertijdzaal with fossils and minerals from the Twente soil
• Funky Forest: a digital forest to join in with
• Museum lab with taxidermy demonstrations
• Landscape garden with ponds, play equipment and garden café

Permanent exhibitions

• Wonderkamers – Animals from every continent, from the kingfisher to the saltwater crocodile, in an arrangement reminiscent of the founder Bernink's display.
• Oertijdzaal – Fossils and minerals from the Twente soil tell the story of the region's formation from the Ice Age to the present day; also the skeleton of a mammoth.
• Funky Forest – Interactive digital forest: at the projected waterfall, visitors make trees grow, leaves and blossoms sprout, and encounter virtual animals.

Founded

1911

Director

Ankie Krom

Admission & discounts

Free with the Museumkaart. Members of the FC Twente Kidsclub: one child free per paying visitor. Annual pass available at the ticket desk (including 25% discount on admission to Nordhorn Zoo).

Accessibility

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

Wheelchair accessible, also for compact mobility scooters (scootmobiel) and prams; lift available, all stairs with handrails. The garden is only partly wheelchair accessible. Assistance dogs welcome, other pets not.

Kids & families

Great for kids & families

• Family tours & workshops
• Activity booklet, scavenger hunt or kids’ audio guide
• Hands-on stations
• Stroller-friendly
• Playground / play area
• Kids’ birthday parties

The museum sees itself as a place for the whole family: digital Funky Forest, museum lab, a search game in the garden, plus swings, climbing equipment and a water play area in the garden. Children's birthday parties with five themes (e.g. Dino Party from age 6, Water World or Owl Pellets from age 8); admission plus programme €15 per person for 8 or more paying guests.

Getting there & parking

Amenities & dining

• Café
• Museum shop

Garden café with terrace by the landscape garden (small lunch menu during the summer holidays); museum shop accessible without an admission ticket. Lunch for groups of 8 or more (€16.50 or €19.50 per person) on request.

Events & venue rental

The museum hasn’t published any information on this.

Plan your visit