The Tournai Museum is the oldest natural history museum in Belgium. It was founded under the Dutch occupation by enlightened enthusiasts with a curiosity for science and a passion for zoology. The museum was opened to the public on Sunday, 13 September 1829, in the galleries of the city hall, and has continued to enrich its collections ever since. Since 1839, it has been located in the outbuildings of Saint-Martin Abbey. From the 1870s onwards, despite the richness of its collections, the museum gradually fell into decline. By then, the accumulation of taxidermies in the display cases was behind the times and the public turned away. The two world wars didn’t help matters. In 1914, the animals were used as training targets for soldiers and, in 1940, the building was bombed and an entire wing completely looted. It chugged along, however, until the appointment of a new volunteer curator in 1959: Paul Simon (1924-1995). He completely reorganised the collections, sorting and classifying them and using modern exhibition techniques. Along the way, he also created a diorama room, highly innovative for its time, where animals were presented in their natural environment. From 1978 onwards, his successor, Philippe Brunin, also set about revitalising the museum with temporary exhibitions focusing on education or animal art. In 2001, at his instigation and with the help of local and European funding, a vivarium was created, focusing on endangered species and attracting a new audience, one that was sensitive to the problems posed by biodiversity and fond of zoos. The Museum went on to enjoy many other adventures, and today has an international scientific dimension