In 1982, just as the new craze for pets was taking off, the museum's curator opened a small vivarium where a few live reptiles were displayed. The complementary relationship between live and taxidermy animals is a real crowd-pleaser. In the early 2000s, thanks to European funding, the vivarium was enlarged and became a real attraction for the museum, which then became a small zoological park that joined the European Association of Zoos and Aquariums (E.A.Z.A.). The species are then carefully chosen, sometimes to contribute to a joint effort to save endangered species, sometimes as living illustrations of biological themes that the education department strives to explain to the many classes that visit the institution. The Museum is coordinating a European programme to save the endangered Jamaican boa, as well as the mysterious periophthalmus, a small fish that can stay out of the water for several minutes without suffocating. In all, some sixty species of reptiles, fish, amphibians and invertebrates inhabit the vivarium's enclosures. Since 2019, the public has also had the opportunity to discover more local fauna in the landscaped garden, which also features a greenhouse for exotic butterflies.