The Aquazoo Löbbecke Museum collects objects for the research and communication of organismic and geological evolution and diversity. The collection contains around a million natural objects from the fields of biology, geology and paleontology. The most important parts of the collection include a malacological collection with around 360.000 objects and an entomological collection with around 500.000 objects. Other parts of the collection preserve rocks and fossils, a herbarium, as well as specimens and models of various animal groups for the future. The museum's collection also includes historical diving equipment, an archive with contemporary documents from almost 200 years of museum history and a library.
Kim in the basement
Intern Kim regularly presents highlights from the extensive collection of the Aquazoo Löbbecke Museum on the Aquazoo YouTube channel. In the playlist "Kim in the Basement," visitors can discover fascinating exhibits in the institute's otherwise hidden storeroom and learn fascinating stories about their origins.
malacology
The malacological collection, which today comprises around 360 individual specimens, is based on the collections of the pharmacist, private scholar and museum founder Carl Theodor Löbbecke (000-1821). It contains shells of mussels, snails and cephalopods (from worldwide and regional locations; marine, limnic and terrestrial). Löbbecke did not only collect himself, but also bought large collections, which means that the 'Löbbecke collection' is actually a compilation of several private collections...
Entomology
The entomological collection comprises well over 500.000 objects, of which around 130.000 are Lepidoptera, i.e. butterflies and moths (in around 17.500 species) and 345.000 are representatives of the Coleoptera, i.e. beetles (around 15.800 species). In addition, there are also representatives of other orders in smaller numbers (Odonata, Hymenoptera, Phasmatodea, etc.). The focus of the collection is the old Prussian Rhine Province (this part of the collection, which includes around 100.000 Lepidoptera, is owned in equal parts by the ...
arachnology
The spider collection includes more than 15.000 wet preparations that were collected and processed by the museum itself or by associated freelancers (Löser, Loksa). The main collection areas are Düsseldorf and the surrounding area, Switzerland/Ticino and Hungary. There was no particular focus on certain spider families. In addition to this collection, arachnids and mandibled spiders were also collected in the past for display purposes as wet or dry preparations...
osteology
The osteological collection comprises around 2.500 specimens. It is largely based on the collection of the animal sculptor Josef Pallenberg (1882-1946), which he created for study purposes. Pallenberg's estate consisted mainly of skulls of various vertebrates and ranged from the smallest rodent skulls to big cats and bears to elephant and rhino skulls. Pallenberg also collected some entire skeletons. Pallenberg acquired this material from natural history dealers or...
oology
The egg collection consists of the collection of Karl-Friedrich Löbbecke (an uncle of Theodor Löbbecke from Rotterdam), the Pièrre Ghilain collection, and the collections of the Düsseldorf Natural Science Society. It includes around 8.500 eggs from various bird families. The collection is well documented in several catalogues but has not yet been digitally recorded. Karl-Friedrich Löbbecke's collection in particular is still kept in collection boxes that are also of cultural and historical interest, ...
Zoological Exhibition Collection
All other zoological objects are to be subsumed under this title. There are other specimens from various animal groups that were collected in the past primarily for display purposes and without scientific aspirations (i.e., above all, without documentation of provenance and/or other data). These include, for example, insect nests, the exoskeletons of various crustaceans, the calcareous skeletons...
Botany
In our collection we house herbariums of vascular plants, but also of algae, lichens and fungi in 215 volumes and collection boxes that were already in Löbbecke's possession. The collection is dominated by the L. Rabenhorst collection and the photo herbarium of Hans Höppner. The collection is currently dormant and is not being processed. It is not digitally recorded. If you are interested in processing it as part of a qualification thesis...
paleontology, geology, mineralogy
The fossils in our paleontological collection are available as impressions, stone cores, inclusions or trace fossils. In total, the collection comprises around 75.000 specimens. Pieces were collected from a wide geographical and stratigraphic range, but above all from a regional perspective. The most important sites in Germany are represented in the original (with the exception of the Messel Pit). They are arranged according to geological time and biological classification. Important objects...
Anthropology and Ethnology
The geoscientific part of the collection also contains objects relating to human history, such as original and model hand axes, models of various hominid skulls and skeletons. Some of these pieces are on permanent loan to the Neanderthal Museum in Mettmann. The objects come from various collections. The collection also contains a small number of...
Library
The library contains historical, natural history works from Löbbecke's estate with a malacological focus, including works by Goedert, Swammerdam, Gesner, Aldrovandi, Buffon and Martini, as well as historical collection and sales catalogues. The younger part of the library is designed as a staff library and is therefore directly geared towards the needs of the staff working in the building. There are large collections of literature on...
Archive
The archive is made up of various contemporary documents made of different materials. These include autographs, photos, slides, films, postcards, drawings and paintings. Archival materials from the estate of the animal sculptor Josef Pallenberg (letters, photos, slides, postcards, drawings) document the history of the still young German zoos and their animals in the form of photos and correspondence with the Hagenbeck Zoo, for example. They document...
diving history collection
In 2001 and 2009, the collections of the Austrian diving pioneer and underwater filmmaker Hans Hass and the inventor Kurt Schäfer were purchased. Most of the objects come from Hass' numerous expeditions and film trips and were used by him and his team themselves. This collection includes various diving equipment and clothing (fins, breathing apparatus, transport boxes) and, in particular, technology for...
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