The National Museum of Natural History ( mt, Mużew Nazzjonali tal-Istorja Naturali) is a natural history museum in the mediaeval walled city of

Mdina Mdina ( mt, L-Imdina ; phn, 𐤌𐤋𐤈, Maleṭ; grc, Μελίττη, Melite (ancient city), Melíttē; ar, مدينة, Madīnah; ), also known by its Italian-language titles ("Old City") and ("Notable City"), is a fortifications of Mdin ...

, Malta. It is housed in

Palazzo Vilhena Vilhena Palace ( mt, Il-Palazz De Vilhena; it, Palazzo Vilhena), also known as the Magisterial Palace ( mt, Palazz Maġisterjali) and Palazzo Pretorio, is a French Baroque palace in Mdina, Malta. It is named after António Manoel de Vilhena, ...

, a French Baroque palace rebuilt in 1726 by Grand Master

Antonio Manoel de Vilhena Antonio is a masculine given name of Etruscan origin deriving from the root name Antonius. It is a common name among Romance language-speaking populations as well as the Balkans and Lusophone Africa. It has been among the top 400 most popular male ...

to designs of

Charles François de Mondion Charles François de Mondion (6 October 1681 – 25 December 1733) was a French architect and military engineer who was active in Hospitaller Malta in the early 18th century. He was also a member of the Order of Saint John. Career Mondion was bo ...

. The museum opened to the public in 1973, and is run by Heritage Malta.History
(old page). National Museum of Natural History. Archived 26 July 2011. The museum gives the visitor an overview of Maltese ecosystems (both on ground and under water), focusing on endemic plants and bird of the Islands, such as the Maltese Centaury and

Blue Rock Thrush The blue rock thrush (''Monticola solitarius'') is a species of chat. This thrush-like Old World flycatcher was formerly placed in the family Turdidae. It breeds in southern Europe, northwest Africa, and from Central Asia to northern China and M ...

. This museum display ranks a large variety of minerals, fossils, insects, reptiles, birds, mammals, fish and sections about

Geology Geology () is a branch of natural science concerned with Earth and other astronomical objects, the features or rocks of which it is composed, and the processes by which they change over time. Modern geology significantly overlaps all other Ear ...

and

Palaeontology Paleontology (), also spelled palaeontology or palæontology, is the scientific study of life that existed prior to, and sometimes including, the start of the Holocene epoch (roughly 11,700 years before present). It includes the study of fossi ...

Apollo 17 Goodwill Moon Rock

On Tuesday May 18, 2004, Malta's Apollo 17 Goodwill

Moon rock Moon rock or lunar rock is rock originating from Earth's Moon. This includes lunar material collected during the course of human exploration of the Moon, and rock that has been ejected naturally from the Moon's surface and landed on Earth as ...

was stolen from the Museum. According to an Associated Press story the Moon rock has a value of 5 million dollars (U.S), making it one of the largest valued thefts in Malta's history. The Moon rock has not been recovered.In Search of the Goodwill Moon Rocks: A Personal Account
Geotimes Magazine, Joseph Gutheinz, November 2004.

References

{{DEFAULTSORT:National Museum Of Natural History (Malta) Natural history museums Museums in Malta Mdina 1973 establishments in Malta Sites managed by Heritage Malta

Apollo 17 Goodwill Moon Rock

See also

References