Naturalis

Naturalis, most commonly referring to Naturalis Biodiversity Center, is the Dutch national museum and research center for biodiversity, located in Leiden. It is one of the world’s leading natural history institutions, combining a public museum with extensive scientific programs and data resources.

The center operates as a museum, a research institute, and a data and library hub. Its collections span zoology, botany, paleontology, and geology and include millions of specimens, as well as type material and archives. Researchers at Naturalis study taxonomy, systematics, evolution, ecology, and biodiversity, and contribute to international databases and open science initiatives. The institution maintains laboratories, curatorial facilities, and digital catalogs to catalogue and share information about biodiversity with the global community.

Public programs and exhibitions are a major focus, with permanent displays on nature and biodiversity alongside temporary exhibitions. Naturalis also offers educational activities, workshops, and outreach programs for schools, families, and researchers. The center collaborates with universities, museums, conservation organizations, and other research institutes worldwide, and it participates in citizen science projects and data-sharing initiatives to support biodiversity research and conservation.

Historically, Naturalis grew from national natural history collections and has evolved into a modern, integrated center that combines curation, research, and public engagement. The name Naturalis derives from the Latin naturalis, meaning natural, a term that appears in historical scientific contexts such as historia naturalis and in contemporary usage to denote natural history topics.