Open-air museum Mühlenhof

The climate has an impact on the earth and on us humans, and this is precisely what the special exhibition at the LWL Museum of Natural History is about. Guests are taken on a journey through the past, present and future on 1,000 square metres and can become active climate researchers themselves. The exhibition appeals to all the senses and offers interesting facts for young and old.

Together with the Allwetterzoo, the Westphalian Horse Museum is showing the special exhibition "PLAYMOBIL Animal Stories - Diorama Artist Oliver Schaffer". On display are a total of 13 impressive and colourful PLAYMOBIL worlds on the themes of "Horses" and "Wild Animals". The exhibition presents the common history of man and horse and takes visitors young and old on a voyage of discovery to three of the five climate zones of our earth: tropics, subtropics and temperate zone. The exhibition is based on the concept of the all-weather zoo, which is arranged according to these three climate zones.

In the subtropics, visitors can experience, among other things, the great animal migrations of East Africa or the endangered calicoes on Madagascar. In the Tropics, anteaters and countless other animals await discovery in the green jungle. Last but not least, the temperate zone also takes us to our latitudes and shows us, with the help of a seal bank in the North Sea, which fantastic natural areas lie right on our doorstep.

In the "Man and Horse" section, the development from the prehistoric horse to the ice-age horse to the modern show horse can be seen. But topics such as the Dülmen horses, horse graves or the horse in the Middle Ages are also traced in detail.

Another area is dedicated to the new Meranti Hall of the Allwetterzoos and the Westphalian Horse Museum. In this way, the close partnership between the two popular Münster institutions is made visible and tangible in the exhibition.

"PLAYMOBIL Animal Stories" is not only an exhibition that is beautiful to look at, but also has an educational mission: for example, it offers playful access to the climatic zones of our world and their ecological conditions.

On every 1st Friday of the month from 9 am, dogs and their owners are allowed into the exhibitions of the Westphalian Horse Museum.

On 8 October 2023, a horse experience day will take place at the Westphalian Horse Museum in Münster. Between 10 a.m. and 4 p.m., all visitors will have the opportunity to experience horses up close and playfully engage with the topic of horses. The programme includes face painting and film screenings, a handicraft activity and a quiz through the exhibition.

And of course, contact with the "real" horse will not be neglected: the Shire Connection Schönborn from Katzwinkel will be presenting the largest horse breed in the world. If you want, you can stroke the impressive Shire Horses, have your photo taken with them - and if you dare, you can even sit on them.

A real film star will also be there: Shire Horse "Warrior" was one of the animal protagonists in the film "Immenhof 2 - The Great Promise" and played "Mr. Big" there. On this day, the team of the Shire Connection Schönborn reports on what the filming looked like and how "Warrior" was prepared for his role as an actor.