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MUSE Science Museum

MUSE, Renzo Piano's mountain-shaped science museum in Trento, descending from glaciers to rainforest.

  • Trento
  • Museum
Plan your visit
Where
Trento
Best for
Renzo Piano architecture
Allow
2 hr 30 min

Renzo Piano designed MUSE to echo the jagged profile of the Dolomites visible from its site in Trento's Le Albere district, a 130-by-35-meter building across six levels, two below ground and four above, that opened on July 27, 2013, replacing the older Museo Tridentino di Scienze Naturali that had operated since 1964.

The exhibition itself descends the way a mountain does, starting with glaciers at the top and working down through Alpine ecology to a tropical greenhouse at the base, with taxidermied animals suspended in a central void that visitors look up into from multiple floors at once. Sustainable engineering runs through the whole structure, earning MUSE a Gold LEED certification, and the surrounding Le Albere neighborhood, also designed by Piano, gives the museum a modern residential setting unusual for a science museum of this scale.

Five works worth finding

If you see nothing else, see these.

  1. The Big Void with the fin whaleRenzo Piano building

    Taxidermied animals hang in the void, alongside the complete skeleton of a fin whale that stranded on the Tuscan coast in 1995.Central void connecting all floors

  2. The glacier and high peaks floorMuseum exhibition

    A replica of a typical Trentino glacier in ice, with sections on climate, high-altitude adaptations and mountaineering.Top exhibition floor

  3. The alpine biodiversity mazeMuseum exhibition

    A maze of glass images and stuffed alpine animals with no glass between you and them.Alpine nature floor

  4. The tropical greenhouse and aquariumsMuseum exhibition

    A mountain rainforest greenhouse and large aquariums close the descent from glaciers to the tropics.Lowest level, west end

  5. The rooftop terraceRenzo Piano building

    Views over Trento and the Adige valley, outside the exhibition route.Top floor

Plan your visit

Everything you need before you go.

Booking
No booking needed
Time needed
2 hr 30 min
Best time
A weekday morning, when school groups are least likely to crowd the interactive exhibits
Getting there
In Trento's Le Albere district, a short walk south of the historic center and the main train station.
Accessibility
A modern purpose-built museum with elevators connecting all six levels; step-free throughout.

Start at the top floor with the glaciers and work down, following the building's own logic: visitors who start at the bottom often miss how the descent is meant to mirror a mountainside.

Official website
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Good to know

How long should you spend at the MUSE science museum in Trento?

Plan on about two and a half hours, more with children. The exhibition descends like a mountain, from glaciers at the top to a tropical greenhouse at the bottom, and the route is best done from top to bottom.

Is the MUSE in Trento good for kids?

Yes, it is one of the best science museums in Italy for families, with interactive exhibits, animals and a greenhouse. It works in bad weather too. Adults enjoy the Renzo Piano architecture and the mountain theme.

Is the MUSE worth visiting if you are not a science person?

Yes. The building itself, echoing the Dolomite skyline and certified LEED Gold, is worth seeing, and the exhibits are built around mountains, which suits Trentino. It stands in the Le Albere district, a modern neighborhood also by Piano.

More to see nearby

Same city first, then the nearest across the region.

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