The same year, the skeleton of a mammoth was unearthed near Lier, in Antwerp, Belgium, and due to the prompt action of the archaeologist François-Joseph Scohy, it was preserved and brought to the museum, where it has been exhibited since 1869.

Found alongside the Iguanodon skeletons were the remains of plants, fish, and other reptiles,[3] including the crocodyliform Bernissartia.

[4] Between 1889 and 1891, the museum moved from its original home at the Palace of Charles of Lorraine into a former convent located on the heights of the park.

The building quickly became too narrow and the director of the time, Edward Dupont, entrusted the architect Charles-Emile Janlet the construction of a new southern wing.

In 1950, several modern buildings were added to house new exhibition and storage rooms, as well as premises for the Royal Belgian Institute of Natural Sciences, the research centre of which the museum is now part.