The animal matching game
Nature makes art
Oops – something's not right here! Which animal goes with which skin? Match the photos with the correct silver animal! First click on a silver animal and then on the picture with the matching skin.
Deceptively real
This silver container was originally used to store writing utensils – a vintage pencil case! There was space inside for pens, sand for drying ink, and a small pair of scissors.
The lid and sides of the box are full of beetles, spiders, lizards, and much more. Have you noticed that these little animals look like they're really alive?
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Wenzel Jamnitzer, Writing Set, 1560/70. Vienna, Kunsthistorisches Museum, Kunstkammer © KHM-Museumsverband
I'd also love to have such a beautifully decorated penbox! Don't the little animals look really real?
How the silver animals were created
The artist Wenzel Jamnitzer used a very special technique for this: First, a dead animal was coated with liquid clay. After that, the clay was fired in the kiln, during which the animal inside the shell turned to ash. This created a hollow mould. Liquid silver was then poured through a small hole into the empty mould. As soon as the metal was solid, the clay was broken and the little silver animal was taken out.
And ta-da, the deceptively real natural cast was finished!
Handmade nature art!
Do you also want to collect nature prints? Why not try pressing an object from nature into clay or modelling dough!
For nature detectives
As you have seen, our nature is full of fascinating details. Stay curious and keep looking closely! Is there anything where you live that particularly interests you?
Pick one thing you would like to know more about from a research area. You can record your nature discoveries on the research sheet. Have lots of fun with it!
Explore the exhibition
Are you curious? A free kids’s booklet for young visitors aged 6 to 10 awaits you at the exhibition. This way, you can explore the exhibition on your own – Emilio and his friends will guide you!