Artis Micropia

Artis Micropia is the world's first microbe museum, located within the grounds of the Royal Artis Zoo in Amsterdam. Opened in 2014 after more than a decade of development, it was created to bring the invisible world of micro-organisms into plain sight, using cutting-edge display technology to reveal bacteria, viruses, fungi, and other microscopic life that surrounds and inhabits us every day. The museum was designed in close collaboration with scientists and received the Council of Europe Museum Prize in 2016, recognition of its genuinely original contribution to public science engagement.

Visitors explore themed zones that examine how microbes shape human health, food, the natural environment, and even the air we breathe. The centrepiece Kiss-o-Meter invites guests to discover the microbes exchanged in a single kiss, making abstract science immediately personal. Entry tickets grant access to the full permanent collection, which presents living cultures and real-time microscopy alongside interactive exhibits. Micropia sits beside the historic Artis zoo and botanical garden, making it a natural extension of one of Amsterdam's oldest scientific and cultural institutions.