Author: Lisa Verhagen

This is a scale model of a tower that formed part of a monastery founded by the Cistercian monks from the Ter Doest Abbey in Vlaanderen. They played a large part in land reclamation in this area. Their motto was “Prayer and Work” They built dykes and sluices on land they had bought or received […]

Narwhals are toothed whales, most closely related to the white whale or beluga, often seen in aquariums around the world. Males have a massive ivory tusk that is unique in the animal kingdom. This tusk typically grows from the left side of their upper jaw in a leftward spiral and can reach a length of […]

Composite skeleton of a woolly rhinoceros, a companion of the woolly mammoth. This skeleton is assembled from more than 150 different skeletal parts of animals that were all approximately the same size and age. These bones were retrieved from the bottom of the North Sea and date back to a time when the North Sea […]

Two teeth: one tooth crown (original) and one tooth with root (a cast) of a Tyrannosaurus rex, a carnivorous dinosaur from the Cretaceous period. Characteristic are the serrated teeth that function like a bread knife. These teeth are deadly for prey, such as Triceratops prorsus.

Nearly complete skull, original with approximately 15% restoration, of one of the most famous dinosaurs, equipped with three dangerously forward-pointing horns. We have given this well-preserved dinosaur the nickname Domien as a tribute to Domien Hennion, who, together with his father, dedicated much time and effort to preparing this skull from the hard rock. Such […]

In use since the late 19th century This type of diving suit protected divers at greater depths from water pressure and supplied them with breathing air. It was made from a single piece of rubber; the diver had to be assisted into the suit through the neck opening by several people. The equipment was weighted […]

Beavers, large rodents, had gone extinct in the Netherlands. They have been successfully reintroduced. Some places where you might see them include the Biesbosch (North Brabant and South Holland), the Millingerwaard (Gelderland), and the Leudal (Limburg). Their numbers are steadily increasing. However, beavers have been present in the Netherlands for a very long time. Throughout […]

In this display case is the skull of an extinct beaked whale. Beaked whales are the least known of all dolphins and the world champions of deep-sea diving. Yet there are no fewer than 23 different species of beaked whales. Some of them – reaching lengths of up to 12 meters – are the giants […]

Alongside whales and giant sharks, other sea creatures were part of the marine fauna of the eight-million-year-old North Sea. One of these was an extinct leatherback turtle nearly two meters in size. During one of the expeditions in the Westerschelde, an enormous and very rare piece of carapace was recovered, showing bite marks from a […]

Livyatan, as you can see here, closely resembled the modern sperm whale. The difference lies – apart from its massively muscular body – in its large jaw with sharp teeth in both jaws (the modern sperm whale only has small teeth in its lower jaw). The modern sperm whale is the last surviving member of […]