Out of the Box

Our display and research collections comprise more than 7 million objects. Each object tells its own story. The collections are unique archives of nature and form the basis for numerous research projects on the history of the earth and biodiversity.

The history of the collections is closely linked to the history of Saxony and its citizens. The roots of the collections lie in the Kunst- und Naturalienkammer of the Saxon Elector August (1526 – 1586). The exchange between science and society was often just as much a driving force for new discoveries and insights as scientific exchange worldwide. Many of the objects came into our collections through private individuals, volunteers and our scientists. We are now retrieving some of these objects from our depots. The SENCKENBERG Natural History Collections Dresden have been researching the “System Earth” for almost 300 years. Today, we are part of the SENCKENBERG Gesellschaft für Naturforschung and thus the largest institution in the Leibniz Association, with eight research institutes and three museums.