The Steinhardt Museum of Natural History, Israel National Center for Biodiversity Studies at Tel Aviv University, is a

natural history museum A natural history museum or museum of natural history is a scientific institution with natural history collections that include current and historical records of animals, plants, fungi, ecosystems, geology, paleontology, climatology, and more. ...

Israel Israel (; he, יִשְׂרָאֵל, ; ar, إِسْرَائِيل, ), officially the State of Israel ( he, מְדִינַת יִשְׂרָאֵל, label=none, translit=Medīnat Yīsrāʾēl; ), is a country in Western Asia. It is situated ...

, including both education and a research center. It is the largest and most active center in Israel of documentation and science, focusing on

biodiversity Biodiversity or biological diversity is the variety and variability of life on Earth. Biodiversity is a measure of variation at the genetic ('' genetic variability''), species ('' species diversity''), and ecosystem ('' ecosystem diversity'') ...

research and its varied applications including nature conservation,

environmental protection Environmental protection is the practice of protecting the natural environment by individuals, organizations and governments. Its objectives are to conserve natural resources and the existing natural environment and, where possible, to repair dam ...

, and agriculture.(October 20, 2016)
The 8,000-sq.m. building will be the largest center in Israel for biodiversity research, education and conservation

Globes A globe is a spherical model of Earth, of some other celestial body, or of the celestial sphere. Globes serve purposes similar to maps, but unlike maps, they do not distort the surface that they portray except to scale it down. A model globe of ...

.Boissoneault, Lorraine (July 12, 2017)
The Middle East Is a Treasure Trove of Natural Wonders. Now It Has a Museum to Show Them Off
.

Smithsonian (magazine) ''Smithsonian'' is the official journal published by the Smithsonian Institution in Washington, D.C. The first issue was published in 1970. History The history of ''Smithsonian'' began when Edward K. Thompson, the retired editor of ''Life'' mag ...

Jacobson, Michael (March 24, 2017)
The Steinhardt Museum of Natural History in Tel Aviv

Ynet Ynet (stylized as ynet) is one of the major Israeli news and general-content websites, and is the online outlet for the '' Yedioth Ahronot'' newspaper. However, most of Ynet's content is original work, published exclusively on the website and wri ...

. The museum is set for the discovery, collections development and care, and scientific categorization of millions of specimens, documenting the flora and fauna in Israel and the

Middle East The Middle East ( ar, الشرق الأوسط, ISO 233: ) is a geopolitical region commonly encompassing Arabian Peninsula, Arabia (including the Arabian Peninsula and Bahrain), Anatolia, Asia Minor (Asian part of Turkey except Hatay Pro ...

for thousands of years, as well as the history of humankind and its interactions with the environment. It provides access to the public and the scientific and professional community. Collections holding some 5.5 million items, accumulated by scientists from

Tel Aviv University Tel Aviv University (TAU) ( he, אוּנִיבֶרְסִיטַת תֵּל אָבִיב, ''Universitat Tel Aviv'') is a public research university in Tel Aviv, Israel. With over 30,000 students, it is the largest university in the country. Locate ...

and other institutions, were moved to the new museumDavis, Barry (October 23, 2016)
Naturally Local

The Jerusalem Post ''The Jerusalem Post'' is a broadsheet newspaper based in Jerusalem, founded in 1932 during the British Mandate of Palestine by Gershon Agron as ''The Palestine Post''. In 1950, it changed its name to ''The Jerusalem Post''. In 2004, the pap ...

. (August 22, 2016)
Ark-shaped museum to show evolutionary crossroads in Israel

Reuters Reuters ( ) is a news agency owned by Thomson Reuters Corporation. It employs around 2,500 journalists and 600 photojournalists in about 200 locations worldwide. Reuters is one of the largest news agencies in the world. The agency was est ...

. before it opened to the public in July 2018.

Architecture and concept

By ovedc - Steinhardt Museum of Natural History - 12

Protaetia-cuprea--SMNH-Tel-Aviv-Nature-Museum--IZE-295

The museum was designed by Kimmel Eshkolot Architects. The 9,620 sq m five-story building was designed as a "Treasure Box" or "Noah's Ark". Thousands of items from the collections, used primarily for basic and applied research, for teaching and training, are presented to the public as part of exhibitions. Exhibition spaces comprise over 1,700 square meters in nine themed exhibitions:

bird migration Bird migration is the regular seasonal movement, often north and south along a flyway, between breeding and wintering grounds. Many species of bird migrate. Migration carries high costs in predation and mortality, including from hunting b ...

; Israel's diversity of

ecosystem An ecosystem (or ecological system) consists of all the organisms and the physical environment with which they interact. These biotic and abiotic components are linked together through nutrient cycles and energy flows. Energy enters the syst ...

s; bugs and beyond; life in the dark; (animal) shape, structure and functions;

human impact on the environment Human impact on the environment (or anthropogenic impact) refers to changes to biophysical environments and to ecosystems, biodiversity, and natural resources caused directly or indirectly by humans. Modifying the environment to fit the need ...

; interaction between animals; treasures of the collections.

Permanent exhibitions

* The Great Bird Migration - on the ceiling of the entrance lobby there are taxidermies of flying birds passing over Israel during the

migration Migration, migratory, or migrate may refer to: Human migration * Human migration, physical movement by humans from one region to another ** International migration, when peoples cross state boundaries and stay in the host state for some minimum le ...

season, including water birds,

stork Storks are large, long-legged, long-necked wading birds with long, stout bills. They belong to the family called Ciconiidae, and make up the order Ciconiiformes . Ciconiiformes previously included a number of other families, such as herons an ...

pelican Pelicans (genus ''Pelecanus'') are a genus of large water birds that make up the family Pelecanidae. They are characterized by a long beak and a large throat pouch used for catching prey and draining water from the scooped-up contents before ...

s and rollers. * Bugs and Beyond - in the entrance floor and including terrariums with living

arthropods Arthropods (, (gen. ποδός)) are invertebrate animals with an exoskeleton, a segmented body, and paired jointed appendages. Arthropods form the phylum Arthropoda. They are distinguished by their jointed limbs and cuticle made of chitin, ...

as well as taxidermy specimens. * Life in the Dark - animals that live without daylight * Urban Nature - wild animals living in the city * Israel's Landscapes - several flat dioramas of natural habitats in Israel and their common fauna, including desert, sand & dunes, forests, fresh waters and the

Mount Hermon Mount Hermon ( ar, جبل الشيخ or جبل حرمون / ALA-LC: ''Jabal al-Shaykh'' ("Mountain of the Sheikh") or ''Jabal Haramun''; he, הַר חֶרְמוֹן, ''Har Hermon'') is a mountain cluster constituting the southern end of th ...

's alpine climate, with stuffed and mounted animals. Entrance ramp to1st floor. * Form and Function - an exhibition showing how the body of animals is adapted to their function. Includes skeletons and taxidermies of animals such as

Velociraptor ''Velociraptor'' (; ) is a genus of small dromaeosaurid dinosaur that lived in Asia during the Late Cretaceous epoch, about 75 million to 71 million years ago. Two species are currently recognized, although others have been assigned in th ...

(replica), giant

Aldabra tortoise The Aldabra giant tortoise (''Aldabrachelys gigantea'') is a species of tortoise in the family Testudinidae. The species is endemic to the islands of the Aldabra Atoll in the Seychelles. It is one of the largest tortoises in the world.Pritchard ...

, Negev

gazelle A gazelle is one of many antelope species in the genus ''Gazella'' . This article also deals with the seven species included in two further genera, '' Eudorcas'' and '' Nanger'', which were formerly considered subgenera of ''Gazella''. A third ...

porcupine Porcupines are large rodents with coats of sharp spines, or quills, that protect them against predation. The term covers two families of animals: the Old World porcupines of family Hystricidae, and the New World porcupines of family, Erethiz ...

elephant Elephants are the largest existing land animals. Three living species are currently recognised: the African bush elephant, the African forest elephant, and the Asian elephant. They are the only surviving members of the family Elephantida ...

skull,

mallard The mallard () or wild duck (''Anas platyrhynchos'') is a dabbling duck that breeds throughout the temperate and subtropical Americas, Eurasia, and North Africa, and has been introduced to New Zealand, Australia, Peru, Brazil, Uruguay, Argen ...

flying fox ''Pteropus'' (suborder Yinpterochiroptera) is a genus of megabats which are among the largest bats in the world. They are commonly known as fruit bats or flying foxes, among other colloquial names. They live in South Asia, Southeast Asia, Aust ...

and more. 1st floor. * The Human Impact - an interactive exhibition showing mainly the negative human impact on the environment (pollution, destruction of habitats, invasive species, over-fishing etc). * "The Web of Life" - Interaction Between Animals and Ecosystems - starting with a diorama of the

created by the

Acacia ''Acacia'', commonly known as the wattles or acacias, is a large genus of shrubs and trees in the subfamily Mimosoideae of the pea family Fabaceae. Initially, it comprised a group of plant species native to Africa and Australasia. The genus nam ...

tree, showing inter-relations and connections between different animals, plants and their ecosystems. * Whale - a full size skeleton of a

Common minke whale The common minke whale or northern minke whale (''Balaenoptera acutorostrata'') is a species of minke whale within the suborder of baleen whales. It is the smallest species of the rorquals and the second smallest species of baleen whale. Althoug ...

* Treasures of the Collections - a wide collection of taxidermied birds and mammals, skeletons and preserved specimen of fish and marine invertebrates. The historical collection of zoologist (1845–1922), on lease from the German Association of the Holy Land, is presented behind a protective glass. It includes the last wild

Nile crocodile The Nile crocodile (''Crocodylus niloticus'') is a large crocodilian native to freshwater habitats in Africa, where it is present in 26 countries. It is widely distributed throughout sub-Saharan Africa, occurring mostly in the central, eastern, ...

hunted in 1912 in Ottoman Palestine. 2nd floor. * What Makes Us Human? - the origin of man:

anthropology Anthropology is the scientific study of humanity, concerned with human behavior, human biology, cultures, societies, and linguistics, in both the present and past, including past human species. Social anthropology studies patterns of be ...

and skeletons of prehistoric men, showing their evolution from "

Lucy Lucy is an English feminine given name derived from the Latin masculine given name Lucius with the meaning ''as of light'' (''born at dawn or daylight'', maybe also ''shiny'', or ''of light complexion''). Alternative spellings are Luci, Luce, Lu ...

" (replica) to modern

Homo sapiens Humans (''Homo sapiens'') are the most abundant and widespread species of primate, characterized by bipedalism and exceptional cognitive skills due to a large and complex brain. This has enabled the development of advanced tools, culture ...

. 4th floor.

Research and education

The specimens record the fauna and flora of the region over the past century, as well as the development and history of humankind. The collections are an extremely active National Research Infrastructure that is used by over 500 scientists, graduate students, and professionals from Israel and the world every year. The museum integrates and absorbs the educational activities previously conducted within "Campus-Teva" at Tel Aviv University.

Israel Taxonomy Initiative

The Israel Taxonomy Initiative (ITI),The Israel Taxonomy Initiative
Museum site a project supported by the higher education system of Israel, government ministries and agencies, and various research institutions, functions within the museum. Its main activities aim to revive the field of taxonomy, to train of taxonomists, and to deepen the knowledge of the biodiversity of Israel. The ultimate goal of the initiative is to contribute to the study, conservation and sustainable use of ecosystems in Israel.

Location

The museum building is located in the east of Tel Aviv University campus, across the Diaspora Museum gate, adjacent to the

Botanical Gardens A botanical garden or botanic gardenThe terms ''botanic'' and ''botanical'' and ''garden'' or ''gardens'' are used more-or-less interchangeably, although the word ''botanic'' is generally reserved for the earlier, more traditional gardens, an ...

and the

I. Meier Segals Garden for Zoological Research I is the ninth letter of the Latin alphabet. I or i may also refer to: Language * I (pronoun), the first-person singular subject pronoun in English * I (Cyrillic), a letter used in almost all ancient and modern Cyrillic alphabets * ı, dotle ...

Contributing research institutions

The Zoological Museum ( School of Zoology, George S Wise Faculty of Life Sciences), the National Herbarium of

algae Algae (; singular alga ) is an informal term for a large and diverse group of photosynthetic eukaryotic organisms. It is a polyphyletic grouping that includes species from multiple distinct clades. Included organisms range from unicellular micr ...

fungi A fungus ( : fungi or funguses) is any member of the group of eukaryotic organisms that includes microorganisms such as yeasts and molds, as well as the more familiar mushrooms. These organisms are classified as a kingdom, separately fr ...

, and

lichen A lichen ( , ) is a composite organism that arises from algae or cyanobacteria living among filaments of multiple fungi species in a mutualistic relationship.About
Museum site. The

Israel Academy of Sciences and Humanities Israel Academy of Sciences and Humanities, based in Jerusalem, was established in 1961 by the State of Israel to foster contact between Israeli scholars in the sciences and humanities and create a think tank for advising the government on re ...

recognized the collections as national collections, a national museum of natural history in the making,National Collections of Natural History
Museum site while the National Council for Research & Development recognizes them as a National Research Infrastructure. The Ministry of Science & Technology recognizes the museum as a Knowledge center in agricultural and the environment.

Financing and administration

The construction of the museum building was made possible following the support of

Michael Steinhardt Michael H. Steinhardt (born December 7, 1940) is an American billionaire hedge fund manager, philanthropist, and former antiquities collector. In 1967, he founded a hedge fund, Steinhardt Partners which he ran until he closed it in 1995. After a ...

, former Chairman of the Board of Governors of Tel Aviv University, and his wife, Judy, as well as donations from other foundations and individuals (

Yad Hanadiv Yad Hanadiv (The Rothschild Foundation) is a Rothschild family philanthropic foundation in Israel. Goals and objectives Yad Hanadiv defines its mission as: Dedicated to creating resources for advancing Israel as a healthy, vibrant, democratic so ...

, Dan David Foundation, Arison Foundation, KKL-JNF, Millie Phillips, Colette Kerber, and Haim Filler, as well as government assistance provided by the Planning and Grants Committee of the Council for Higher Education, the Ministries of

Environmental Protection Environmental protection is the practice of protecting the natural environment by individuals, organizations and governments. Its objectives are to conserve natural resources and the existing natural environment and, where possible, to repair dam ...

; Agriculture and Rural Development;

Tourism Tourism is travel for pleasure or business; also the theory and practice of touring (disambiguation), touring, the business of attracting, accommodating, and entertaining tourists, and the business of operating tour (disambiguation), tours. Th ...

; Science & Technology).Steinhardt Museum inaugurated with flare and critters
Tel Aviv University site The museum is chaired by Prof. Tamar Dayan of the School of Zoology at Tel Aviv University, with Alon Sapan acting as director. The collections operate under the auspices of the Israel Academy of Sciences and Humanities and with the support of the Planning and Grants Committee of the Council for Higher Education.

References

External links

official site
{{Authority control Museums in Tel Aviv Natural history museums Science museums in Israel University museums in Israel