Zoological museum of the university of Zurich, Natural history museum in Zurich, Switzerland.
The Zoological Museum of the University of Zurich is a natural history museum housing thousands of preserved animal specimens, skeletons, and fossil remains from different geological periods. The displays showcase creatures from around the globe and illustrate the diversity of animal life across time.
The collection began in the 17th century as private cabinets of Zurich citizens, including Johann Jakob Scheuchzer and Johannes von Muralt. In 1833 these were merged with cantonal and Natural Research Society holdings for university teaching and passed to the canton. The university took ownership in 1908, and the museum opened in 1914 in Karl Moser's main university building. In 1956 it became an independent institute, and in 1979 the non-public collection moved to the Irchel campus.
The museum's name and collection trace back to private cabinets of Zurich citizens such as Johann Jakob Scheuchzer and Johannes von Muralt in the 17th century. In 1833 these were merged with cantonal and Natural Research Society holdings for university teaching, and in 2016 a special exhibition marked the 500th birthday of Conrad Gessner.
The museum occupies two levels of the 1914 main building by Karl Moser at Karl-Schmid-Strasse 4: Swiss fauna on the ground floor, marine animals in the basement. Entry is free. From Central, the Polybahn funicular climbs the hill to the Polyterrasse.
The ground floor holds 280 recorded Swiss bird songs that visitors can play at listening stations, alongside microscopes for examining crabs, spiders, insects and molluscs. The museum shares its building and exhibition space with the Palaeontological Museum, and both are listed as Swiss cultural properties of national significance.
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