The Muséum national d’Histoire naturelle is heir to more than 400 years of scientific research. It seeks to share with as many people as possible its testimonies to the history of natural sciences and to raise awareness in all types of public of the issues related to the conservation of life on our planet through its vast collections.

The Muséum is the custodian of a collection that is unique in both its diversity and scope. More than 67 million specimens are exhibited in the galleries or kept in the storerooms. They have enormous historical value alongside their great scientific interest since they very often serve as reference specimens for researchers. The Muséum also conserves the treasures of one of the largest natural history libraries in the world, and many objects of art including the Muséum’s famous vellum collection. These collections are constantly growing through the relentless exploration of biodiversity carried out by the Muséum’s scientific teams, among others. Recent technical progress has also led to the introduction of new types of collections, for example of a biomolecular nature.

These large collections require constant restoration, additions and accessibility to the public so they can be studied. With this in mind, the Muséum pour la Planète endowment fund aims to provide long-term support for the restoration of specimens, objects and exhibition spaces in order to ensure their proper conservation and to provide visitors with the best conditions to discover the collections.

The endowment fund also aims to fund additions to the Muséum’s collections by participating in the institutions’ collection acquisition policy.

Finally, the endowment fund seeks to support the Muséum in its projects to facilitate the study of these extraordinary collections for scientists from across the world, by funding digitisation and computerisation work for the collections, which are then made freely accessible on-line.