When the new museum opens in March, visitors will witness a groundbreaking new chapter in Danish museum architecture, where the Botanical Garden's historic buildings blends with striking new underground galleries and structures that echo the silhouettes of nature. Here, they will be able to explore eight new exhibitions: Universe, Earth, Life, Denmark, Arctic, Biodiversity, Humans, and Ocean Hall.
Throughout 2026, the museum will reveal further details of the eight exhibitions, which together will create a unique experience of natural history and humankind's place within it.
The museum building has been supported by the private foundations Villum Foundation, Novo Nordisk Foundation, Aage og Johanne Louis-Hansens Fond and Det Obelske Familiefond. The eight new exhibitions have been supported by The A.P. Moller and Chastine Mc-Kinney Moller Foundation.
The opening of the new museum marks a new era for Natural History Museum Denmark and its work in research, collections, and public engagement:
“Our vision is to create a beacon for the future of natural history that strengthens the connection between people and nature. Nature is in crisis, and at the same time, many people feel disconnected from it. When we don't feel connected to nature, we don't feel responsible for it either. That is why our most important task is to help restore that connection – and to spark wonder that can spur change,” says Museum Director Nina Rønsted.
"We do this through world-class research, extensive collections and engaging outreach, all brought to life in new surroundings where architecture and exhibitions weave together the story of natural history and humankind's place within it. We hope that visitors will leave with enthusiasm, knowledge, and a desire to protect nature."
David Dreyer Lassen, Rector of the University of Copenhagen, highlights the opening as a historic event for the university:
“Natural History Museum Denmark is a central and highly valued part of the University of Copenhagen. It is a museum we can be proud of – not just as a university, but as a nation. With these new, magnificent surroundings, we have even better opportunities to strengthen society's encounter with science.”
The new museum aims to unify the Botanical Garden, the historic buildings and the new architecture. It has been designed by Lundgaard & Tranberg Architects in collaboration with Claus Pryds Architects.
“We have created an underground universe of exhibition galleries, where daylight is filtered softly down through skylights, and where you constantly feel the connection between the landscape above and the spaces below. The galleries have been designed to engage all the senses – like moving through natural phenomena,” says Lene Tranberg, architect and co-founder of Lundgaard & Tranberg Architects.
“The ambition has been to create a place where, for a while, you can step out of the city and into a world of nature, science and wonder. The Botanical Garden extends above the underground galleries in a natural interplay with the buildings, so that the museum is experienced as a unified whole,” says architect Claus Pryds.
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“Natural History Museum Denmark is an important national institution that leads the way in showing how natural science, culture and public outreach can go hand in hand. The museum makes complex knowledge accessible and strengthens the public understanding and education that are essential for a sustainable future. We are proud to support the development of the new museum. For Villum Fonden, this has been a long-term commitment – from the very beginning in 2019 to the creation of a museum that is being elevated to an international level, in direct continuation of Villum Fonden's ambition to contribute to an enlightened world,” says Jens Kann-Rasmussen, Chairman of the Board, Villum Foundation.
“At Novo Nordisk Foundation, we are incredibly proud to support the new Natural History Museum Denmark. The museum will create a strong framework for engaging children and adults in natural science. At the same time, it represents a significant boost to Denmark's natural history outreach, capable of sparking curiosity and wonder about nature's grand interconnections and the strong research traditions we have in this field,” says Berith Bjørnholm, Vice President, Education & Engagement, Novo Nordisk Foundation.
“The museum's ambitious architecture bridges past and present, and its expression is accompanied by nature's own logic – variation, adaptation, light, texture and cycles. The new buildings create a sensory and inviting setting that supports the museum's core purpose. At Aage og Johanne Louis-Hansens Fond, we hope that everyone – staff and the general public alike – will warmly embrace this inspiring celebration of natural history,” says Christine Wiberg-Lyng, Foundation Director, Aage og Johanne Louis-Hansens Fond.
“The new Natural History Museum Denmark is the result of a long-term collaboration between a number of parties, where we as a foundation had the opportunity to contribute at an early stage. It is a great pleasure to see the vision realized and the museum soon to be opened to the public. The museum will become a strong focal point for knowledge and the sharing of natural history – a field essential to our understanding of the world around us,” says John Amund Tønnes, Director, Det Obelske Familiefond.
The museum building was designed by Lundgaard & Tranberg Architects and architect Claus Pryds, who won the international design competition in 2012 together with EKJ Rådgivende Ingeniører and Professor and landscape architect Steen Høyer. The remaining consultants include Julie Kierkegaard Landskabsarkitekter, Gade & Mortensen Akustik and Ebbe Stub Wittrup.
The exhibition concept design was developed in collaboration between the museum and the design agency Tinker Imagineers, which won the international competition to create the new permanent exhibitions in 2018. In 2023, the exhibition work entered the production phase, with the design agency Event winning the tender to deliver the new exhibitions.
With around 14 million items collected over 400 years – from animals, plants and fossils to minerals and meteorites – the collections are at the core of the museum, complemented by living collections of approximately 8,000 plant species.
The museum is located in the Botanical Garden near Nørreport Station in the heart of Copenhagen, where all of its activities now come together in one place. Together with the garden, the new museum creates a shared setting for collections, research and public engagement – and a unified experience of natural history.
