Collection permanente du Muséum d'Histoire Naturelle de Marseille - "Terre d’évolution"

A natural history museum to rediscover. In 2019, the Marseille Museum of Natural History celebrated its 200th anniversary and 150 years since moving to the Palais Longchamp, inaugurated in 1869. This double anniversary was an opportunity to rethink the museum’s permanent exhibition spaces, offering visitors a resolutely contemporary view of its natural and scientific heritage. Redesigned spaces The museum’s permanent exhibitions on level 1 dated from 1986 for the Safari Room, with some alterations in the 2000s. “The displays were no longer up to date and did not incorporate an overall vision of biodiversity. The prehistory and evolution sections have also been reworked in the new visitor route, incorporating all living beings.” “Furthermore, some of the archaeological objects have moved to a new space in the Museum of History,” explains its curator and director, Anne MEDARD. The innovative “Terre d’évolution” visitor route, spread across three rooms, explores the history of life, encompassing all animal and plant species and all geological periods through to the present day. “In a single exhibition, visitors discover biodiversity through seven themes: “Living Here”, “Reproducing”, “Protecting Oneself”, “Communicating, Perceiving”, “Breathing or Not”, “Feeding” and “Evolving”. “The museum’s iconic collections are still present, but they have been supplemented by acquisitions from the past 15 years that had not yet been displayed,” Anne MEDARD continues. More than 1,800 species are exhibited among the 60,000 specimens kept in the museum’s storage facilities. “That means more than 1,000 new discoveries for museum visitors!” The Provence Room enhanced Protected as a Historic Monument, the Provence Room is a showcase of 19th-century museography and provides a unique setting for fossilized and taxidermied specimens from Provence, where many species have now disappeared. It is full of historical details. No fewer than 40 Provençal coats of arms accompany wall frescoes painted in 1869 by Raphaël PONSON, depicting the region’s main ecosystems. “We had to preserve the spirit of this room: it is one of the finest rooms in France and Europe preserved in its original state. A ‘museum within the museum’, in a way. But we have improved the lighting and, at the entrance, installed two interactive terminals to enhance the visit,” explains the curator. On the landings of the monumental stone staircases, alongside its two 1900 frescoes by Jean-François AUBURTIN, new furnishings complement the historic display cases, originally designed when the museum was created, with a presentation of regional prehistory. ► From 14 July, discover “Glaciers” New “In the News” mini-section As part of the International Year of Glaciers’ Preservation in 2025 and the AMIDEX programme led by Aix-Marseille University, the Marseille Museum of Natural History highlights glaciers and the issues associated with them in the “In the News” mini-section of the permanent “Terre d’évolution” exhibition. + info https://musees.marseille.fr/glaciers-parcours-permanent-museum-marseille A natural history museum to rediscover. Remember that on the first Sunday of every month, all Marseille museums are free! ► In the event of severe winds, Longchamp Park may have to close, preventing access to the museum. We invite you to contact the museum reception by telephone before travelling to check whether it is actually open. ► To make sure you can enjoy the complete visit of all our exhibition rooms, we invite you to contact the museum before your visit. ► All visits and activities related to the exhibition are available on the musees.marseille.fr website