Aquazoo Lobbecke Museum, Dusseldorf

The Aquazoo Lobbecke Museum in Dusseldorf is an engaging blend of zoo and natural history museum located in the city’s Nordpark. Opened in 1987, this institution combines live animal displays with historical natural exhibits over an expansive 6,800 square meters. Featuring approximately 560 animal species in aquariums, terrariums, and a tropical hall, the museum invites visitors to explore the diverse realms of life through 25 thematic rooms. With around 500,000 visitors annually, it’s one of Dusseldorf's most popular cultural attractions.

The museum’s exhibition is arranged as a six-part tour titled Understanding Diversity, which traces the evolution of life from ocean origins through freshwater habitats, onto land, and into arid environments. This progression is illustrated through a range of live animals, models, skeletons, fossils, and interactive stations. Visitors can appreciate unique displays, such as a piranha tank paired with a prepared piranha skull, where visible teeth and morphology are showcased alongside the animal’s behavior, offering a holistic view of both form and function.

A special children’s area features the characters Fred and Theodor Lobbecke, engaging young visitors through cartoon guides that add a playful dimension to the exhibits. In addition to animal life, the museum boasts an impressive natural history collection, with 900,000 items spanning biology, geology, and paleontology. Highlights include a collection of over 360,000 mollusk specimens, an expansive insect and spider collection, and a collection of bird eggs. Also notable are collections from renowned marine researchers Hans Hass and Kurt Schaefer, featuring diving equipment, underwater photography artifacts, and historical documents.

A meticulously organized mineralogical collection, structured according to Strunz, and an extensive library with over 5,000 monographs round out the offerings, making the Aquazoo Lobbecke Museum a treasure trove for natural history enthusiasts and curious minds alike.