The National Museum of Natural History, which is marking its 50th anniversary since it opened its doors at Palazzo Vilhena in Mdina, will benefit from an investment of about €300,000 in 2024.
The investment was announced by Heritage Malta chairman Mario Cutajar during the launch of a book and an exhibition marking the anniversary.
The book 'The National Museum of Natural History: 50 Years in Mdina, A Photographic Journey' was compiled by John J. Borg, the museum’s senior curator.
The 50 photos shown in the book may also be viewed at the museum, where they will be exhibited until December.
Cutajar said the country must ponder whether the Mdina site is fulfilling the function it was chosen for, and whether a more adequate space for a natural history museum should be considered.
"We must also consider the ties that we want the museum to nurture with contemporary society, and in what ways it can retain its relevance for future generations. We must ensure that this museum is not a reflection of the past but that, through its collections, it strengthens a social consciousness about our environment and the need to protect it for our successors,” he added.
In the aftermath of the Second World War and the loss of the national museum in Valletta, the natural history collections that survived the bombings were not curated and many specimens were lost to the onslaught of dermestid beetles and other insect pests.
During the war and the following two decades, the collections were stored at Casa Leoni in Santa Venera.
In 1966, the government decided to house the Natural History Museum inside Palazzo Vilhena in Mdina.
The site had been closed for 10 years, having previously served as a hospital for tuberculosis patients.
The restoration process to open the museum started in 1966. The curatorial team at the time was headed by Harry Micallef, a marine biologist, and included Carmelo De Lucca and George Zammit Maempel, respectively in charge of the birds and insects section and the geology and palaeontology section.
Both Micallef and De Lucca passed away by the time the museum opened to the public in June 1973.
Joseph Vella Gaffiero was appointed as museum officer to finalise the displays, while Zammit Maempel retained his post as assistant curator in charge of the geology and palaeontology sections, including the Għar Dalam cave and museum.
Once the 2002 Cultural Heritage Act came into fruition and the museum changed the direction it was heading towards, the public’s appreciation of its collections increased, as did the collections themselves through several donations.
The collections are still growing constantly, Heritage Malta said, adding that while this is very encouraging, it also exacerbates the problem of lack of storage space.
The bird collection alone, which amounted to 1,700 specimens in the early 2000s, nowadays comprises more than 10,000 exemplars, it said.
Today the National Museum of Natural History is the most popular heritage attraction for families with young children. It also serves as the repository of the national biological collections, aiding both local and foreign researchers.