Erfurt (dpa/th) - The special exhibition marking the 100th anniversary of the Natural History Museum in the Erfurt Art Gallery will be supplemented by a second exhibition in-house from Friday. With "History and Stories" the museum looks back - on closures and relocations, times marked by war as well as on special achievements or exhibits. In the small show, historical treasures from the depot are on display, such as hamsters making music and playing cards or lambs with six legs.
Thousands of hours of research have been accumulated over the years. More than a million insects and many other animals are stored in the house not far from Erfurt Cathedral. From the point of view of curator Christoph Unger, many of the exhibits on the anniversary are scientifically worthless. Rather, it is about showing how animals were prepared 100, 80 or even 30 years ago.
"The exhibition is deliberately a look back," said curator and museum educator Sheila Baumbach before the opening on Thursday evening. It is "a bit of a contrast, but also a counterpart" to what can be seen in the Kunsthalle.
Due to the space available in the Kunsthalle, the large objects from the various stacks of the Natural History Museum can be shown together here for the first time. The heart of the exhibition is the "animal procession": According to the city, it consists of more than 50 large and small animals and is accompanied by hovering cranes, owls, sparrows, small and large birds. The exhibition in the Natural History Museum in the Great Arche will be on display until the end of October. The special exhibition in the Kunsthalle am Fischmarkt can be seen up to and including October 23.
