The Museum in evolution

It studies and represents the complexity of the territory.
It communicates the value of collections and environmental natural heritage.
It hosts mixtures of languages and cultural experiences of participation.
It is a point of reference for a network of projects and collaborations.
It promotes awareness and responsibility towards nature, ecosystems and sustainability.
It is aware of its current limitations but also of its potential.
Key to reading and interpreting the past, present and future.

History

1814 – 1902

1814: first donation by Count Luigi Lechi consisting of over 200 minerals of various origins.

1895: Eugenio Bettoni founded the Brescian Society of Natural History entitled to the pharmacist “Giovanni Battista Ragazzoni” who was among the first to be interested in local entomology, mineralogy and study of fossil finds.

1902: inauguration of the Museo di Storia Naturale “G. Ragazzoni” set up inside Palazzo Martinengo da Barco, then seat of the Ateneo di Scienze, Lettere ed Arti of Brescia.
1907 – 1951

1907 – 1909: the collections are transferred to the Castle of Brescia and the city zoo opens, which over the years will help to enrich the museum’s zoological collections with exotic specimens.

1949: the members of the Ateneo and the Gruppo Naturalistico Ragazzoni donate the collections to the Municipality of Brescia.

1951: the Museo Civico di Scienze Naturali opens to the public, in the keep of the Castle of Brescia.
1953

1953: inauguration of the Civica Specola Astronomica Cidnea, the first astronomical observatory in Italy for the public observation of the sky; in the same year the city zoo reopens, after having remained inactive following the Second World War.
1983 – 2017

1983: The new Museo di Scienze Naturali opens in its current location of via Ozanam.

2001 – 2005: dismantling of the “ambienti naturali” rooms for the construction of the new library.

2007: inauguration of the scientific library “Nino Arietti”.

2017: “Report of the working group for the relaunch of the Museo Civico di Scienze Naturali” promoted by the Assessorato Tutela Ambientale, Sostenibilità, Verde and Protezione Civile.
2018 – 2022

2018: Transfer of the management of the Museum to the Assessorato alla Cultura, Creatività e Innovazione Tecnologica.

2021: Presentation of the cultural project for the renewal of the Polo Scientifico Museale of Brescia by Codice Edizione.

2022: Presentation of the feasibility study of design alternatives for a new Museum location by the architectural firm Tectoo.

Musem now

Due to a forced closure of the permanent exhibition and waiting for a new location, the Museo di Scienze Naturali of Brescia continues its activity:

by organizing temporary exhibitions, dissemination activities for citizens and educational proposals for schools and groups
by promoting scientific and naturalistic knowledge
by preserving the natural heritage

The Museum deals with scientific research activities collaborating with a territorial network consisting of museums, parks, science centers and research organizations for the knowledge, conservation and enhancement of natural capital.

242323183_4321161031253710_5332000245244048724_n

The Museum is therefore a place of intersection where the territorial knowledge acquired with the study of scientific collections and with field researches can be put at the service of:

research entities for the construction of theoretical models;
local authorities for the decision-makers in the application of these models on a territorial scale;
Institutions promoting science and nature education;
companies and technological research inspired by the Nature Based Solution philosophy.

The cultural project for the Museo del Futuro Possibile

2021 and 2022 were years of redesign of the identity and cultural proposal of the museum institution and a feasibility study of the design alternatives for the new headquarters of the Museum was reached.
In 2021, through a Stakeholder Engagement process, the cultural project for the renewal of the Polo Scientifico Museale of Brescia was presented to the citizens.

The study is curated by Codice Edizioni together with the scientific staff of the Museum.

Key Points→

The Concept

We imagine a concept that, starting from the peculiarity of the ecosystem of the province of Brescia, its territory and its history, also natural, can provide interpretative keys of the future that awaits us and on how this future can be imagined and built.

The new Museo di Scienze Naturali can become the agora where knowledge, debates and awareness are combined.

It will represent a significant new cultural proposal for the city: a scientific and cultural center, immersed in a large green area, a place of sociality and sharing, which speaks and dialogues about science, biodiversity and a sustainable future with low impact.

About the results→

The feasibility study for the Museo del Futuro Possibile

The feasibility study of the new Museo di Scienze Naturali, by Studio Tectoo, is the result of a synergistic work carried out together with the staff of the Museum, the building sector of the Municipality of Brescia, the consultants of Codice Edizioni, that through Fondazione Brescia Musei have continued to follow the process. The work has allowed a strategic vision of design, both at the urban and cultural level. The project brings together functional, aesthetic, urban and environmental needs: connecting the Marconi park with the Lussignoli park, which will also be characterized by the botanical garden. The new building will be a symbol of sustainability and energy efficiency for buildings and systems, partly based on nature based solutions.

Brand

The new visual identity of the Museo di Scienze Naturali

The new visual identity of the Museo di Scienze Naturali was born thanks to a collaboration with the Accademia di Belle Arti di Brera and the start of the process of Stakeholder Engagement, organized through work tables attended by some “public stakeholders”.

The reflections that emerged from the tables are significant testimonies and stimuli of fundamental importance for the present and, above all, for the Future of the Museum. Its identity traits and functions are outlined and translated into the shape, composition, colors and formats of the new logo:

_

The shape recalls and represents the territory of the Province of Brescia, placing the Museum as the point of a network that interprets processes and returns connections through the territorial knowledge of the natural capital
_

The composition and colors reflect the functions of research, conservation and enhancement of the Museum in the Earth Sciences and Life Sciences
_

The different formats express the idea of creating a dynamic Museum, under construction, that combines knowledge, innovations and that promotes connections and participation

The Museum in evolution

History

1814 – 1902

1907 – 1951

1953

1983 – 2017

2018 – 2022

Musem now

Brand

_

_

_