Teylers Museum, Haarlem
- Details
Scientific field: General
Star rating: ****
Summary description: Teylers museum dates from 1778 and is the oldest in the Netherlands and one of the oldest extant museums anywhere. It contains an exceptional collection of scientific artefacts and instruments as well as an art collection. Teylers museum dates from the time when museums were primary tools of scientific research. The museum today preserves the 18th century atmosphere of discovery and wonder.
Location: Spaarne 16, Haarlem, 2011 CH The Netherlands
Getting there: Haarlem is 20km to the west of Amsterdam. Teylers is a short walk from Haarlem railway station. The town is well served by buses.
Background: Pieter Teyler (1702-1778) was a wealthy manufacturer and banker in the ancient city of Haarlem. An archetypal Enlightenment man, he made exceptional collections of both scientific and artistic artefacts. After his death, his executors established a museum in his old house. It was opened in 1784 and thus is the oldest museum in the Netherlands and one of the oldest in the world. The museum has retained a great deal of its original collections and atmosphere. It therefore gives real insight into the 18th century concept of a museum as a place to research, to wonder and to hypothesise. It is a museologist’s museum.
The collections include both scientific artefacts and artistic exhibits. There are exceptional collections of fossils, minerals (see below right) and books. The 18th century fascination in all things electrical is well illustrated by a collection of electrostatic generators and galvanometers. Some exhibits illustrate the enthusiasm for physique amusant; instruments to amuse and enthrall from the fields of optics and electricity.
Opening hours and charges: Tuesday to Saturday, 10 am to 5 pm. Sundays and public holidays 12 to 5 pm. Closed Mondays, Christmas day and New Year’s day. T +31 (0)23-5319010 . Entrance fees (2012): Adults EUR 9; The Museumkaart gives excellent discounts.
Website: http://www.teylersmuseum.eu/
Related sites (partial list at present):
Deutsches Museum, Munich, Germany
Museum of the History of Science, Florence, Italy
Natural History Museum, South Kensington, London, England
Royal Belgian Institute of Natural Sciences, Brussels, Belgium
Royal Museum, Edinburgh, Scotland
Science Museum, South Kensington, London, England