OUR Earth is an art gallery and nature never ceases to amaze. It is hard to capture the world's amazing beauty inside four walls, but the National Museum of Natural History has done quite a good job of it. This museum displays much of Bulgaria's raw and natural beauty along with numerous exotic and extraordinary treasures from far and wide.

For the average person much of what makes up the world is a mystery, however this museum is big enough to tickle the senses while also small enough not to be overwhelming.

The biggest downside from a tourist point of view is that the majority of the flora and fauna is labelled either in Bulgarian or with the Latin scientific name. But even so, just seeing what nature has to offer is awe-inspiring and leaves a feeling of what an amazing world we live in. It is a shame that the museum does not offer descriptive text in English or a guidebook to assist the visitor to learn more about what's on show. However, the fact that it is situated in the centre of Sofia and only costs two leva for foreigners and one lev for Bulgarians, means that the museum remains cheap enough to frequent after some personal research on what has taken your interest.

The ground floor is dedicated to minerals from all over the world. Each rock or funky formation is labelled with its chemical compounds and its origin. An ultraviolet-lit display shows how beautiful the colours are of some of the minerals that the rocks are made up of. Scuba divers know well the beauty of the ocean and some of the exhibits are not dissimilar to the underwater view of a gorgeous bed of coral. It's a lesson in science while admiring the earth's natural art.

On the way to the second level the stairs are lined with some excellent live displays; a huge green iguana, some very curious and playful red-cheeked turtles and, for snake lovers, an American corn snake and a reticulated python.

There is an enormous array of stuffed birds, both big and small, and in all fairness some of the taxidermy is excellent. The largest is a two-and-a-half-metre ostrich, while many are simply magnificent like the great bustard with a wingspan of over a metre. The smallest I found, I am told was a variety of the humming bird: Chrysolampis Mosquitus - no it's not a mosquito, but it is incredibly small.

The marine display doesn't capture the splendour of the ocean and some of the displays are quite basic. Understandably the coral is dead and in fact the mineral exhibits give a better feel of what coral looks like underwater. The shark model is very ordinary, but in overcoming this disappointment, what is on offer is comprehensive enough from a scientific perspective.

It is impressive that some full-sized examples of the world's rarest creatures are on show, like the white rhino and Asian tiger. After seeing some kangaroos mid tour I started to feel close to home and not long after with great surprise I found a New Zealand kiwi!
The brown bear display has an interesting characteristic. The bear's nose is pressed up against the glass, and for some reason it appeared to be misting up, maybe the kid in front of me got a little too close...Whether it's ghost came back to visit or not, the display shows why this is the richest museum of its kind in South Eastern Europe.

The upper level of the museum is dedicated primarily to flora and insects, with rows and rows of ants, flies, cockroaches, mosquitoes, and many different varieties of butterflies. Not so exciting for me, but if you are partial to the creepy crawly well worth checking out.
In summary, an hour or two well spent.

Bulgarian Academy of Sciences
National Museum of Natural History - Sofia
1 Tsar Osvoboditel Blvd
1000 Sofia, Bulgaria
Phone: +359 2 988 2894