Since 1854, the Musée national d'histoire naturelle has been housing the natural history collections of Luxembourg. The museum investigates the richness of the natural heritage of the country and promotes its preservation through public displays in two languages (German and French) and educational activities. In 1996 the public display of the museum was moved to the ancient St. John’s hospice that was transformed into the ‘naturmusée’ with its permanent and temporary exhibitions showing the fascinating world of natural history.

In the exhibitions, human development and its impact on nature are illustrated in various rooms dedicated to evolution, ecology and world history. An interactive multimedia exhibit provides hands-on access to knowledge relating to natural science for both children and adults. About one third of the exhibition surface is dedicated to temporary exhibitions which illustrate different subjects in detail, e.g. “Ice Ages”, “Time” and “Flies”. The temporary exhibitions are either designed in-house by the educational and design staff, or lent from other museums in neighbouring countries. About 1,000 classes or 20,000 young people visit the educational facilities of the museum every year. General public visitors can also access the museum's various and exhaustive databases, which store information about natural landscapes as well as animal and plant species.