The National Museum of Natural History in Mdina, Malta, contains a large collection of rocks, minerals and fossils, including more than 3,000 birds, nests and eggs.

Displays focus on animal habitats, marine ecosystems and human evolution.

There is a hall devoted to the geology of Malta.

A reference library can be used to research life and earth sciences.

Malta's National Museum of Natural History is located in St Publius Square.

It is housed in the former Magisterial Palace.

History of The Magisterial Palace

Around 1454, a town hall for the local government was built in St Publius Square.

It was destroyed in the earthquake of 1693.

Around 1730, Antonio Manoel de Vilhena had his Magisterial Palace - Palazzo Vilhena - built in the same spot.

The palace was designed by Charles Francois de Mondion, a French architect, and was in the French Baroque style.

In 1908, Palazzo Vilhena was converted to a hospital, which was named Conaught Hospital after the Duke of Connaught, the brother of King Edward VII. The hospital was closed in 1956.

The building reopened as the National Museum of Natural History on June 22, 1973.