Museu Balear de Ciències Naturals

About the museum

The Museu Balear de Ciències Naturals is part of MUCBO, the foundation that brings together the museum and the Jardí Botànic de Sóller. For more than thirty years MUCBO has been dedicated to research, conservation, public outreach and environmental education in the Balearic Islands. The museum was founded to house the micropalaeontology collection of the distinguished Sóller native Guillem Colom and, from that core, gathered important natural history collections from the islands.

Today it holds more than one million specimens, with a broad representation of the rocks, minerals and fossils of the Balearic Islands, as well as collections of molluscs, echinoderms, fish, reptiles, birds and living mammals. One of its main aims is to conserve this heritage and make it known.

The building's route covers three permanent exhibitions: Geology on the ground floor, which is being renewed in phases and already presents modules on caves and groundwater; Palaeontology on the first floor, with pieces such as the skeleton of Myotragus balearicus; and Biodiversity on the second floor, dedicated to the marine and terrestrial fauna of the islands. Admission also includes the Jardí Botànic de Sóller, founded in 1985 and open to the public since 1992, which focuses on Mediterranean and Balearic flora. The institution organises workshops, lectures and school visits.

Highlights

• Palaeontology exhibition with the skeleton of Myotragus balearicus
• Biodiversity exhibition: marine and terrestrial fauna of the Balearic Islands
• Geology of caves and groundwater
• More than one million specimens in the collections
• Jardí Botànic de Sóller included with admission
• Free audio guide in four languages

Permanent exhibitions

• Geología – Ground-floor exhibition, being renewed in phases; it currently presents modules on the geology of caves and groundwater.
• Paleontología – First-floor exhibition, opened in 2003, with fossils arranged by the geological time scale and remains of Myotragus balearicus.
• Biodiversidad – Second-floor exhibition on the living marine and terrestrial fauna of the Balearic Islands, with dioramas and taxidermied specimens.

Founded

1992

Operated by

Fundació Jardí Botànic de Sóller – Museu Balear de Ciències Naturals (MUCBO)

Admission & discounts

Admission gives access to the museum and the Jardí Botànic. The €2 discounts can be combined down to a minimum of €2.50 (groups, residents of the Balearic Islands, students, teachers and pensioners). Long-term unemployed people: €4. Free admission: sponsors of MUCBO, members of the Friends of the Museum and Garden society, residents of Sóller or Fornalutx (with ID card), accredited tourist guides, and groups of people at risk of social exclusion or with disabilities. Guided tours for cultural associations: €2.50 per person plus €50 per group.

Accessibility

The museum hasn’t published any information on this.

Kids & families

Great for kids & families

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

“L'explorador del MUCBO” is a family activity in which children, wearing a smock and holding a map, search the museum and garden for objects of study (information at reception). There are also family activities in the monthly programme.

Getting there & parking

From Sóller station (train or tram) it is about a 15-minute walk.

Amenities & dining

• Museum shop

Shop on site and online shop.

Events & venue rental

• Spaces for rent

The institution offers space hire (no further details on its website).

Plan your visit