A zoological research institution and natural history museum at the northern end of Bonn's Museumsmeile. The highlight is the immersive savannah diorama on the ground floor — life-sized elephants, lions, and giraffes arranged in a recreation of the African plains that feels surprisingly convincing for a building on the Rhine.
Upstairs, the rainforest and polar exhibits are worth a look, and the temporary exhibitions are generally well curated. But the building's most remarkable claim to fame is political: on 1 September 1948, the Parliamentary Council convened here to draft the Basic Law for the new Federal Republic of Germany. Konrad Adenauer opened proceedings in the museum's great hall, surrounded by taxidermied wildlife. A small exhibit on the ground floor commemorates the event.
The museum sits just south of the Bundeshaus district, an easy walk from the centre. Allow about ninety minutes for a visit.