What Natural History Museum Denmark does

Natural History Museum Denmark (Statens Naturhistoriske Museum) is Denmark's national natural history museum, operated as part of the University of Copenhagen and established in its current form in 2004 through the merger of four predecessor institutions. It serves three constituencies in parallel: the general public, Danish schoolchildren, and the international scientific research community. Public-facing assets include the exhibition halls in Copenhagen (356K+ annual visitors) and the 150-year-old Botanical Garden (1M+ annual visitors, 8,000+ species). The museum also holds the country's scientific reference collections of more than 14 million objects spanning zoology, geology, paleontology, and botany, of which more than 1.3 million specimens have been digitized for online access.

The underlying scientific platform is the collection itself, augmented by a digital collections portal, active field and laboratory research programs, and citizen science initiatives. In 2025 the museum's researchers produced 201 peer-reviewed publications and formally described 123 new species, with targeted hires in vertebrate paleontology and geochemistry planned for 2026 to reinforce research depth. New analytical methods, including reflectance spectroscopy on herbarium material and taxogenomic DNA approaches, are being applied to expand what the collections can scientifically answer. A dedicated Head of Digital Collections applies computer vision and machine learning to specimen digitization workflows.

The business model is that of a state-funded non-profit. Core revenue comes from Danish state appropriations under the Museum Act via the University of Copenhagen, supplemented by competitive research grants (notably Villum Fonden for the new building project), ticket and annual pass sales, venue hire, and café and retail income from the Botanical Garden. The museum operates internationally through partnerships with Kew Gardens, BGCI, and GEUS, and is consolidating its physical footprint ahead of a new combined museum building scheduled to open in 2027, following the 2022 closure of the Zoologisk Museum and the planned November 2026 closure of the Geologisk Museum.

Name

Natural History Museum Denmark

Legal name

Statens Naturhistoriske Museum

Website

https://snm.ku.dk

Company type

Private

Founded year

2004

Operating status

Operating

Headcount range

101–250 employees

Short description

Natural History Museum Denmark is the country's national natural history museum under the University of Copenhagen, holding 14M+ specimens and a 150-year-old Botanical Garden. It serves public visitors, schools, and scientific researchers through exhibitions, collections access, and peer-reviewed research.

Ownership category

akta.pro rank

Product category

Natural History Museum and Botanical Garden

NAICS

Museums (712110), Zoos and Botanical Gardens (71213), Historical Sites (71212)

SIC

Services-Amusement & Recreation Services (7900)

akta.pro primary industry

Natural History Museums (THAJADAC)

akta.pro secondary industries

Museums & Heritage Sites (History, Science, Specialty) (BPAGAHAA), Museum, Zoo & Attraction Gift Shops (CRALAJAG)

Keywords

• Natural history museum
• Botanical garden exhibitions
• Public science education
• Museum venue rental
• Natural history collections

Headquarters

HQ city

Copenhagen

HQ country

Denmark

HQ region

Europe

Offices4 records

Markets served

GTM type

B2C

Offering type

Services

Cost components

Personnel, Operations, Infrastructure, Technology or R&D, Marketing or Sales, Supply Chain, Others

Revenue model

1. Ticket Sales: The museum sells admission tickets through its webshop (webshop.snm.dk) for museum entry, special exhibitions, and events.
2. Annual Pass (Årskort): Annual pass subscriptions providing unlimited museum access for a year.
3. Venue Hire and Event Rental: The museum rents out its facilities for private events, receptions, product launches, and meetings, offering unique and idyllic settings.
4. Café and Retail: Museum café and shops selling merchandise and botanical/nature-related products.
5. Government Funding: As Denmark's national natural history museum under the Museum Act, the museum receives government funding through the University of Copenhagen.

Pricing tiers

Go-to-market motion1 record

Distribution channels6 records

Marketing channels8 records

Core offering

Natural History Museum Denmark is Denmark's national natural history museum, operating permanent and temporary exhibitions, a 10-hectare Botanical Garden with the historic Palm House, Butterfly House, and Rhododendron Quarter, plus scientific research facilities. The museum sells admission tickets, annual passes, educational programs for schools, guided tours, citizen science initiatives, and rents out its premises for private events while operating an on-site café and museum shops. It also maintains a public Collections Portal (Samlingsportal) providing digital access to more than 1.3 million digitized natural history objects from its collections of over 14 million specimens.

Product overview

Natural History Museum Denmark is a national natural history museum offering a unified visitor experience combining exhibitions, the historic Botanical Garden, and research facilities. The museum's core products include permanent and rotating exhibitions (such as 'Vilde vidunderlige verden' and 'Wildlife Photographer of the Year'), the Botanical Garden with its iconic Palm House, Butterfly House, and Rhododendron Quarter. Supporting offerings include educational programs for schools, guided tours, citizen science initiatives, a Collections Portal with 1.3 million digitized specimens, venue hire services, café and retail shops. The museum is preparing to open a major new building in 2027 that will consolidate all operations under one roof.

Differentiator

Problem solved

Functional benefit

Brands

• Botanisk Have: The Botanical Garden featuring the Palm House, Butterfly House, and extensive living plant collections.
• Palmehuset
• Sommerfuglehuset
• Vilde Vidunderlige Verden
• Wildlife Photographer of the Year

Products and services

• Exhibitions (Udstillinger) Permanent and temporary natural history exhibitions for the general public, including the "Vilde vidunderlige verden" (Wondrous World) exhibition featuring museum treasures and the Wildlife Photographer of the Year photography exhibition showcasing the world's 100 best nature photos.
• Botanical Garden (Botanisk Have) Denmark's collection of rare plants from around the world spanning approximately 10 hectares, with around 8,000 plant species and a particular focus on conservation of threatened plant species. Free entry to the garden itself.
• Palm House (Palmehuset) Iconic Victorian greenhouse completed in 1874, covering 2,400 m² and housing subtropical and tropical plants across multiple climate zones from Mediterranean to tropical. Currently undergoing comprehensive restoration.
• Butterfly House (Sommerfuglehuset) Tropical butterfly house where visitors experience butterfly transformation up close, observing the complete lifecycle of various butterfly species in a controlled tropical environment.
• Rhododendron Quarter (Rododendron-kvarteret) Landscape area featuring approximately 475 rhododendron plants representing 190 species, many originating from Asia and at risk of extinction in the wild. Created through transformation of an old apple orchard.
• Educational Programs (Undervisning) Curriculum-aligned learning offerings for schools and institutions from primary to university level, including the DNA Lab hands-on laboratory experience.
• Venue Hire (Lej museet) Rental of museum facilities (including the Sølvtorvskomplekset, VILLUM Salen, and the machine hall) for private events, receptions, product launches, and corporate meetings in unique museum and Botanical Garden settings.
• Collections Portal (Samlingsportal) Digital platform providing public access to over 1.3 million digitized natural history objects from the museum's collections, enabling researchers and the public to explore the museum's specimens online.
• Museum Café and Shops Visitor amenities including the museum café with views over the Botanical Garden, a coffee cart in the garden, and museum shops offering nature-themed gifts, souvenirs, books, and botanical items.
• Annual Pass (Årskort) Subscription-based annual pass providing unlimited museum access for a year, available via the museum's webshop.

Quantifiable outcome

• 356,000+ museum visitors and 1+ million Botanical Garden visitors in 2025
• +8 more outcomes

Segments5 records

Ideal customer profiles4 records

Technology focussed No

API detail

Has API

No

API docs

API detail

Core technology

AI maturity

App detail

Feature3 records

Partnerships

Five partnerships are on record, tiered core and minor.

• Botanic Gardens Conservation International (BGCI)coreStrategic or Co-development PartnerBotanical Garden is a member of BGCI, a global membership organization representing more than 1,100 botanical gardens in over 100 countries. BGCI works to strengthen international plant conservation efforts by sharing knowledge, resources, and methods across the global network. The museum's Botanical Garden achieved BGCI Conservation Practitioner Accreditation in 2025.
• Royal Botanic Gardens, KewcoreStrategic or Co-development PartnerMuseum researchers contributed to the State of the World's Plants and Fungi 2026 report, an international report series from Kew. The collaboration involves research in digitalization of historical plant collections, reflectance spectroscopy, and phenological studies using digitized herbarium specimens globally.
• De Nationale Geologiske Undersøgelser for Danmark og Grønland (GEUS)minorStrategic or Co-development PartnerVincent van Hinsberg has collaborated with GEUS on minerals from Greenland, among other geological research topics. The collaboration involves research into minerals, geological processes, and critical raw materials.
• McGill UniversityminorStrategic or Co-development PartnerVincent van Hinsberg previously held a research position at McGill University in Canada and collaborated with Canadian researchers before joining the museum.
• University of BristolminorStrategic or Co-development PartnerVincent van Hinsberg holds a PhD from the University of Bristol and maintains academic connections with UK research institutions.

Scale indicators19 records

Recent moves10 records

Expansion highlights4 records

Direct peers

• Natural History Museum, London: The UK's national natural history museum and the closest functional peer: a national-scale institution combining research, 80M+ specimen collections, blockbuster exhibitions, and major ticketed visitor flows.
• Muséum national d'Histoire naturelle (Paris): France's national natural history museum combining a Paris research campus, gardens (Jardin des Plantes), and large-scale exhibitions; structurally similar in its mix of museum, garden, and research operations.
• Museum für Naturkunde Berlin: Germany's leading natural history museum with 30M+ specimens, significant research output, and comparable dinosaur/iconic-specimen exhibitions aimed at the same European family/school market.
• Naturalis Biodiversity Center: Leiden-based Dutch national natural history museum with comparable scale (millions of specimens), active research output, and a recent major new building opening — a direct operational and architectural comparable.
• Naturhistorisches Museum Wien: Vienna's national natural history museum with 30M+ objects and iconic display halls; comparable as a state-run European natural history institution with research, exhibitions, and educational programming.
• Naturhistoriska riksmuseet (Swedish Museum of Natural History): Sweden's national natural history museum in Stockholm; a Nordic peer with overlapping collections, exhibitions, school programs, and research mandate directly competing for regional visitors.

Broad incumbents

• Smithsonian National Museum of Natural History: The U.S. national natural history museum, free-entry, with 145M+ specimens and massive research output — comparable as a globally recognized national natural history institution, though operating at much larger scale and as part of a broader Smithsonian portfolio.

Regional players

• Norwegian Museum of Natural History: Oslo's natural history museum under the University of Oslo; a Nordic regional peer competing for Scandinavian family tourism, school trips, and research collaboration.
• Finnish Museum of Natural History (Luomus): University of Helsinki-affiliated national natural history institution with botanical gardens and specimen collections; similar Nordic state-university structure and audience.

Others

• Botanic Gardens Conservation International (BGCI): Global membership organization for botanical gardens; not a competitor but the accreditation body and network partner for Statens Naturhistoriske Museum's Botanical Garden, shaping conservation standards and international collaboration.

Market position

Strengths5 records

Weaknesses5 records

Competitive moat4 records

Key risks6 records

Key highlights6 records

Customer concentration

• YouTubeyoutube.com/user/naturalhistorydk
• Facebookfacebook.com/StatensNaturhistoriskeMuseum
• LinkedInlinkedin.com/company/statens-naturhistoriske-museum
• Instagraminstagram.com/statensnaturhistoriskemuseum

Compliance3 records

Revenue estimate

Valuation estimate

Number of profiles

Profiles19 records

Subsidiaries3 records

Funding overview

Funding rounds

Investors

Funding detail is available on the Subscription and Enterprise plan.Contact sales →

M&A

Investments

M&A and investment is available on the Subscription and Enterprise plan.Contact sales →

Frequently asked questions about Natural History Museum Denmark