Art Zoo Museum in Amsterdam

Art Zoo Museum is a unique museum in Amsterdam which blends the world of animals and art using innovative and traditional taxidermy techniques. Book Art Zoo Museum tickets here

Art Zoo Museum is located over 2 floors inside the historic 17th century Cromhout houses (Cromhouthuizen) on the classy Herengracht canal.

Commissioned in 1660 by wealthy merchant Jacob Cromhout, the 4 canal houses were designed in Dutch classicist style by architect Philips Vingboons and were completed in 1662.

The building is also currently the home to Vrije Academie, the national educational institute for art and culture. Previously it housed Amsterdam’s Biblical Museum which was closed in 2020.

The Art Zoo Museum opened in 2025 and features the striking high-end work of Dutch duo Darwin, Sinke & Van Tongeren.

Ferry van Tongeren and Jaap Sinke were both advertising executives before retraining as taxidermy artists. They added Charles Darwin’s name before their own as a tribute to the English naturalist.

The museum is spread over the ground floor and basement of the house. A hand-held audio tour is included in admission and gives background and context to the exhibits.

This is available in Dutch and English (with sound effects) and in German, French, Italian, Spanish, Arabic, Chinese, Japanese and Russian (without sound effects).

A number of rooms in the museum contain old metal caged aviaries which protect the works whilst creating an atmospheric effect. The lighting of the exhibits is excellent, however the cages can slightly hamper sight-lines and photography of individual items.

The main rooms are adorned with a wide variety of specimens displayed in Wunderkammer style. Mammals, birds, insects and reptiles are all represented as well as busts of Charles Darwin’s head.

Continue through the corridor, past the hanging crocodile to the back rooms where you will find a replica of a T-rex skeleton named Stan.

Perhaps one of the most beautiful elements of the museum is the room of illuminated tulips – which are preserved in glass jars using fortified water.

The basement contains a mock-up of a taxidermy studio which has a large papier-mâché gorilla as the centrepiece.

There is also a small cinema room with a short film about the artists and the development of the museum.

Whilst visiting you can also take in some beautiful features of the Cromhout house.

Particularly of note is the stunning spiral staircase and the beautiful ceiling painted by Jacob De Wit in 1718 aged just 22 – depicting the signs of the zodiac.

Bar Vasari in the basement garden rooms is the onsite cafe which has some lovely decorated ceilings.

You are free to wander around the historic garden which has a pond, sculptures and a large tree.

Looking for something a little bit different in Amsterdam? Then a visit to Art Zoo Museum is highly recommended. The 17th century canal house provides a fitting setting to the innovative yet traditional taxidermy techniques of this talented artistic duo.

The museum stresses all animal specimens died of natural causes and none came for the wild.

Art Zoo Museum Essential Info

First published 17 November 2025.

Links on AmsterdamTips.com may pay us an affiliate commission.