Rijksmuseum Boerhaave wins award

Award winning makeover

Rijksmuseum Boerhaave is the national museum on the history of science and medicine in Holland. The national museum took a much-needed renovation as an opportunity to rearrange the building: the permanent display is now on the upper floor, temporary presentations are on the ground floor, plus there is a new museum shop, a museum café and spaces for lectures, events and banqueting. 

The award was conferred by the European Museum Forum, which falls under the Council of Europe. Every year the judging panel is looking for enterprise and innovation that enhances the public quality of the museum. The judges seek to identify new developments which are likely to have a significant influence in the national and international museum field. This year 40 museums were nominated.

The collection presentation has undergone a complete makeover. While it is still as beautiful as it was before, it is now geared towards a wider audience than just the informed visitor. The previous chronological presentation has given way to a transparent division into five themes, each with its own atmosphere: Golden Age, Illness & Health, Powerful Collections (Enlightenment), Water, Electricity & Data (technology) and Big Questions (modern science). 

To accentuate the rich and diverse stories the museum has to offer, the numerous highlights are accompanied by extras to make them come alive: digital magazines, portraits, stories of patients, films, animations, replicas which the visitor is allowed to handle, and educational games, all of which links history to the present and the future.