Natural History Collections
Natural history collections
Natural history collections are important for understanding biologic diversity and the history of life.
They are a record of biological diversity at a given site when samples where collected, and serve to document changes in nature over time. The NTNU University Museum collections date back to the 1760s and hold approximately 1,040,000 physical objects. These are kept in dedicated storage facilities from their type, size and requirements from how they are prepared.
The natural history collections at the museum include botanical and zoological collections of objects, and time series data from marine (sea), limnic (fresh water) and terrestrial (land) habitats.
Zoological collections
The zoological collections at NTNU University Museum hold as of April 2020 1,040,000 physical objects, in the different subcollections. The oldest samples are from Bishop Gunnerus' activity in the 1760s, but the most important development has been since the 1960s.
Botanical collections
The botanical collections is our knowledge base of what botanical organisms that were and are found in Norway. They form the basis for research in taxonomy and systematics, biogeography, conservation biology and environmental conditions.
Geology collection
The NTNU University Museum's geology collection has a collection of minerals, rocks and fossils which are among the first collected museum objects in Norway.