In the context of the festivities celebrating 600 years of KU Leuven, the exhibition "Kennis in Zicht” (Knowledge in Sight) is planned in Museum M this autumn (from 10 October 2025 to 22 February 2026). This expo will highlight the scientific collections of the Leuven University. One of the eyecatchers is the impressive fossil skeleton of an extinct giant deer (Megaloceros giganteus) that has been part of the palaeontological collection of KU Leuven's Department of Earth and Environmental Sciences for almost 120 years. On Saturday 15 March, during an open lab day and press day, you can meet the conservators currently working on the skeleton.
The Megaloceros, or Irish Giant Deer, is an imposing animal with antlers measuring nearly 3 meters wide. The skeleton is currently being treated by the non-profit organisation. Palaeontologica Belgica on behalf of KU Leuven's Scientific Collections and Heritage Department. Besides making a new frame, the research organization Palaeontologica Belgica will be responsible for the conservation process of the bones and 3D printing missing fragments. Research into the animal's conservation history will also be carried out.
With the deconstruction of the framework finished, the stage of restoration and conservation now begins. A temporary laboratory has been set up for this purpose within the workshops of the Geo-Institute on the Arenberg III campus in Heverlee. In this location, a team of experts and volunteers will clean, strengthen and catalogue each bone via different treatments. This is quite a challenge as these bones may contain a lot of foreign materials, such as metal, plaster, lead, shellac but sometimes also asbestos. If present, the team will take a careful and structured approach to removing them. In collaboration with FabLab Leuven and the company Ornament, the skeleton will be set up in a much more natural pose. The missing parts will be carefully supplemented with digital copies of existing bones.
This project also represents a unique opportunity for students who are taking up the palaeontology course at the university, to learn more about the restoration and conservation process of fossil skeletons. The team is therefore offering interested students the chance to gain hands-on experience by participating in the restoration and treatment of the skeleton in the laboratory.
