Nature & natural history museums in Friesland

The Ir. DF Woudagemaal is the largest pumping station in the world that is still in operation. The pumping station is used to lower the water level in Friesland and is one of the top 100 Dutch UNESCO monuments. The machine park includes four tandem compound steam engines with large linked flywheels

Aqua Zoo Friesland houses mainly animals that live in and around water. On display are penguins, seals, carp, windes, sea bears, red pandas and meerkats, among others. Ring-tailed lemurs roam freely among the visitors. There is also a playground for children.

Shell Museum Paal 14 is dedicated to the world of mollusks. More than 1,500 species of shells collected by the family itself are displayed in the museum.

The Natuurmuseum Fryslân is housed in a former orphanage. The central theme of the museum is the nature of Friesland. The museum consists of four floors with animals, plants, information, assignments and experiments. Doing and experiencing are important in the museum. The collection consists of appr

Natuurcentrum Ameland is a nature museum that illustrates the nature of Ameland. It includes a North Sea aquarium, a landscape experience with information on the flora and fauna of Ameland and a movie theater with a 360 degree view of the origins of the Wadden Sea. There is also a knowledge centre o

Information center the Noordwester is dedicated to the island of Vlieland. Exhibits include a stingray tank where visitors can pet rays. Also on display are finds from the North Sea in the Jutter attic and visitors can learn about gnome life in four seasons in the Gnome Forest. In addition, there is

Informatiecentrum Mar en Klif is dedicated to the landscape and nature in Southwest Friesland. The museum has various exhibitions each season. It shows, among other things, films about the region and its nature. In addition, the museum houses a replica of a badger sett, where badgers roam freely. Th

The Openluchtmuseum It Damshûs illustrates how the peat workers worked and lived and how ‘laagveenturf’ was made in the period 1863 to 1920. The living and working conditions were the cause of social struggle. The museum also illustrates the change in the landscape as a result of peat extraction. On

Botanische Tuin De Kruidhof is the largest botanical garden of the Netherlands. It features seventeen themed gardens each with their own plant collections. Themed gardens that can be visited include: medicinal herbs, cloister garden, butterfly garden, rose garden, woodland garden, fruit garden, fern

Dekema State is a former manor house (‘state’) located on an estate with moats, an orchard with old varieties of fruit and an ornamental garden and a forest park. The house is decorated as was common around 1930, just before the Second World War. The museum illustrates life and work during that time

The Ice Age Museum is located at the Kruidhof garden complex. It stands in a landscape formed from the ice ages and in which authentic and cultural-historical elements are still present. The museum focuses on the ice ages but also the cultural history of the area. The visitor experiences the hunting

SanjesZoo zoo is a combination of a (children's) farm as a zoo. SanjesZoo is home to some forty different animal species, consisting of goats, rabbits, chickens, nose bears, camels and ostriches, among others. The park is also home to Nature Museum Bruinenberg.

Nature Museum Bruinenberg illustrates the diverse nature of North Friesland. The permanent exhibition features over seventy different animals. In addition, the museum has bins with insects and it exhibits a collection of boulders and shells. There are various activities for children, including class