Public relations
The Natural History Museum serves the public and informs them about scientific findings, thus promoting understanding and a sense of responsibility for nature, humanity and the environment. To this end, we design and maintain permanent and temporary exhibitions and run events that are of interest to and generally accessible for a wide audience.
Scientific collections
The Natural History Museum preserves, expands, documents and researches scientific collections in the fields of earth sciences and zoology. We manage and expand these in an appropriate manner. In the process, we make sure to set sensible priorities with similar museums and institutions within Switzerland.
Teaching and research
We coordinate our research and collection endeavors in close collaboration with the University of Bern. In the fields of earth sciences and zoology, in particular, we perform teaching and research tasks that are not covered by the corresponding university institutes. As an extracurricular place of learning, we also offer targeted programs for schools and other educational institutions.
Standards
Our activities are guided by national and international guidelines, in particular the relevant standards of the International Council of Museums (ICOM).
The Natural History Museum of Bern’s mission is based on the mandate from the statutes of the Burgergemeinde Bern and on Art. 18 of the Burgergemeinde Bern’s regulations for the Natural History Museum of Bern, which were approved by the Legislative Council on December 9, 2019 and entered into force on January 1, 2020.
