Natural History Museum in Bucharest visited by half a million people in 2023

Bucharest’s "Grigore Antipa" National Museum of Natural History was visited by 575,551 people in 2023, roughly 100,000 more than the year before, according to its announcement.

The museum manages a collection of nearly 2 million items, divided between the permanent exhibition and 26 storage spaces.

The permanent exhibition was seen by 374,553 people. 30,227 participants attended 43 educational projects, with a total of 617 activities. Three major temporary exhibitions gathered 170,771 visitors, and 5,662 were visitors with special needs, as stated in the Antipa Museum's press release.

In 2023, another 3,620 specimens were added to the scientific collections of the museum following the research of specialists. Some 3,937 pieces with scientific, documentary, and memorial value are listed in Europeana, the digital heritage of Europe, according to News.ro.

"For every RON 1 received from the state budget, we generated an additional RON 1,326 from our own revenues," the museum stated. “Revenues are extremely important for us, as the subsidy only covers 18% of the expenses for goods and services."

Revenues from ticket sales and souvenirs were used, among other things, to increase the accessibility of the museum. According to the institution, access ramps for wheelchair users were installed on all three levels in March 2023.

The "Quiet Hours at Antipa" program was also continued with 23 editions, five more than in 2022. "Quiet Hours at Antipa" is a special visiting program held on Mondays, when the museum is normally closed to the general public, for visitors with sensory disabilities. Workshops for children with special educational needs were also organized.

The museum's 15 researchers also carried out research and development activities within two projects from the museum's annual activity plan: "Assessment of the taxonomic and genetic diversity of national and global fauna" and "Development of the museum's scientific heritage through field research."

The purpose of the research was to make significant contributions to the fundamental knowledge of both Romania's biodiversity and that of the world, as well as to enrich the museum's collections with valuable biological material both scientifically and heritage-wise. These results also formed the basis for the drafting and publishing of scientific works in prestigious international journals.