There are plenty of museums to visit in Amsterdam. You can see ancient art, contemporary art, objects of everyday life of the past, objects of everyday life in the present. There are museums of funny things, beautiful things, historical things, useful things, but also invisible things.

Yes, Amsterdam has a museum of invisible things! Micropia is a new museum displaying all sorts of microbes. I visited last weekend, and it’s awesome!

Credit: Fleur Amsen

Credit: Fleur Amsen

Near the entrance of the museum, a large evolutionary tree is projected on the wall, introducing all the microbes and the diversity of microbes. What follows can best be described as a very interactive microbiology lesson, including peeking through microscopes, looking at all the micro organisms in your own body, and seeing fungi grow.

Credit: Fleur Amsen

You can also watch real scientists at work. The scientists, however, but don’t have multi-coloured flashing lights, and the only zooming in you can do is by stepping closer. So, they cannot really compete with the microbes they are studying.

As with every museum, of course, there is a take home message: microbes are everywhere, there are a lot of them, we cannot live without them. And don’t forget to buy a new toothbrush regularly.