Events at the Museum of Natural History in November

Friday, 1 November to Saturday, 30 November
Interactive exhibition: Erlebnisraum Museum
Location: Museum of Natural History Chemnitz
Admission: Visits to the interactive exhibition are free of charge, an admission ticket is required for the permanent and special exhibitions

A forest that stretches back 291 million years into the Earth's history and a permanent exhibition that has been standing for 20 years - time to change something in our museum! We want to retell the stories about the life and death of our fossilised tree giants and bring much more from the collections to light. Over the past few years, children and young people have been thinking about what our museum should offer in the future. Using games, animated films and audio contributions they developed themselves, they brought prehistoric dinosaurs, scorpions and giant dragonflies to life for the experience level of the new permanent exhibition. The resulting interactive stations were tested by young and old alike. We took these requests for changes on board and now it's time to discover, play and dream again.



Friday, 1 November to Saturday, 30 November
Special exhibition: Wild Neighbours - Animals of the Ore Mountains
Location: Chemnitz Museum of Natural History
Admission: 4 euros, reduced 2.50 euros, children and young people up to 18 years free of charge

From the water bat measuring just a few centimetres to the 300 kg red deer and from the nocturnal predator eagle owl to the slender diurnal adder - the fauna of the Ore Mountains is diverse and has many a surprise in store alongside the well-known representatives of the four-legged and bird world. For example, the crane, which is considered a bird of happiness in many cultures: breeding cranes were observed on the Ore Mountain ridge for the first time in 2021. Or the shy pine marten, which looks very similar to its cousin, the stone marten - but unlike the latter, avoids human settlements. Or the black grouse - a chicken bird threatened with extinction, whose largest habitat north of the Alps is the moors and sparse forests of the Ore Mountains. And last but not least, the wolf - a success story, as the reintroduction of wolves is a natural process that humans are only supporting by not intervening.
The exhibition "Wild Neighbours | Animals of the Ore Mountains", which the Museum of Natural History Chemnitz has been showing in Tietz since March 2024, portrays a total of 28 animal species.

On display are fascinating images by six animal photographers, flanked by original specimens of the animals. In addition, wildlife camera recordings from various locations in the Ore Mountains, which were set up as part of the wolf monitoring programme, are shown on four screens in a continuous loop. The exhibition takes visitors through the typical habitats of the animal species, from urban areas to the heavily over-developed cultural landscape to near-natural forests and mountain regions. In addition to native animal species such as the wild boar and the cuckoo, the exhibition also includes invasive species such as the raccoon and the raccoon dog, which were introduced by humans and have been spreading in Central Europe for several decades. This also applies to two of the four deer species presented: While the roe deer and the red deer are native, the fallow deer and the sika deer came to Germany as hunting game.



Wednesday, 6 November, 5 to 7 p.m.
Opening of the special exhibition "Highlights of Nature Photography 2024"
Venue: Tietz, Museum of Natural History, 1st floor, followed by a tour of the exhibition on the 5th floor
Admission: free of charge

"Wildlife photography adventure - always following the fox"
Lecture by Anne Lindner (nature photographer, Chemnitz)



Thursday, 7 November to Saturday, 30 November
Special exhibition: Highlights of nature photography 2024
Venue: Tietz, adult education centre, 5th floor
Admission: free of charge

Since 1999, the international competition "Highlights of Nature Photography" has been looking for successful photographs of wild animals, unusual plants and special landscapes. In 2024, the jurors received more than 19,000 entries from 34 countries. As every year, the Museum für Naturkunde Chemnitz is showing the winning selection - this time at the adult education centre on the 5th floor of the Tietz.



Wednesday, 13 November, 6.30 to 7.30 p.m.
"Friends of the Museum of Natural History Chemnitz e.V."
Location: Tietz, museum education centre, 1st floor
Admission: free of charge

"Experiences in the production of facet cuts on gemstones."
Lecture by André Vorsatz, Chemnitz



Saturday, 30 November, 2 to 6 p.m.
Advent in the Permian
Location: Tietz, museum education centre, 1st floor
Admission: free of charge

An afternoon of crafting with beeswax, wood and other natural materials, as well as 3D printing pens, invites you to join in. Visitors of all ages can immerse themselves virtually in the 291-million-year-old world of the Permian or create their own Permian landscape.

The event is part of the Maker Advent Capital of Culture programme. It is co-funded by the European Union and co-financed by tax revenue on the basis of the budget approved by the Saxon state parliament.