It could be entered through the garden of the fundatiehuis, the former home of Pieter Teyler van der Hulst.

On top of the room, on the roof, the astronomical observatory used to be a landmark that could be seen for miles along the river Spaarne.

Viervant designed both the mineralogical cabinet and the room around it in the neoclassicist style that was popular in the Netherlands at that time.

The cast iron gallery railing included fold-out supports which were the most expensive part of the room and comprised 15% of the total building costs.

Every bookcase alcove is topped by the name and a stucco profile of a classical Greek writer or philosopher.

[4] Though the Oval room included a library, observatory, and lab to show experiments to the public, the concept of a museum did not really exist yet when it was completed in 1781.

The ground floor is still open for visitors, though they now enter and exit from a new door on the east side that was built in 1878.