Musée Requien: A Natural History Treasure

The Musée Requien, Avignon's natural history museum, is a cabinet of curiosities established in 1840 by Esprit Requien, a naturalist from Avignon. Requien, who was passionate about natural sciences, bequeathed his collections to the Calvet Foundation to share them with the public. The museum's collections, housed in the Hôtel de Raphaélis de Soissans since 1943, contain an estimated 1.2 million specimens.The museum's holdings include a vast herbarium estimated to contain 150,000 to 300,000 plants, as well as minerals, rocks, fossils, and shells. The zoological collections feature mammals, birds, fish, reptiles, amphibians, insects, and shells. The museum also has a library of 18,000 volumes dedicated to natural sciences.The Musée Requien actively contributes to research at the national and European levels. The museum also works to disseminate current knowledge through permanent and temporary exhibitions. A permanent exhibition tells the geological history of Vaucluse and its surroundings, while temporary exhibitions present the riches of the region's natural heritage.Visitors can explore the region's past biodiversity and discover the geological history of the Vaucluse. The museum is also family-friendly, with exhibits that appeal to children, including a Tyrannosaurus Rex skull and dioramas of stuffed animals and birds from the region.