The Groote Museum is divided into zones. Discover here what there is to see and experience in the zone about the nose.

The minute a tomcat sniffs out a queen in heat, there is nothing holding him back. That’s the 
simple, basic effect of scent.

Whether you are a tomcat or a louse, a beech tree, a human, a vulture, or a lobster, you automatically respond to it: to reproduce, to eat, or to protect you from danger. Every living creature spreads and intercepts odors. We capture them with our noses, and they, in turn, affect us deeply - more than we realise.

Discover this zone

The smells of Amsterdam

Where else but in Amsterdam can you smell a coffee shop after a herring cart? Explore the map by artist Jan Rothuizen.

Out of stock

When bumblebees land on a flower, they leave a substance on the flower. So other bees know the flower has no more food.

Find the zone

You can find this zone on the first floor in the East Hall of the Museum.

Tree to the rescue

The acacia tree vachellia farnesiana has an ‘alarm system’ to warn other trees when grazers, such as deer, are nearby that eat their leaves. The tree released ethylene. When neighboring acacia trees detect (smell?) this, they produce tannin, which is deadly for most grazers. So just like when we smell fire we act on it to protect ourselves, the Acacia has the ability to detect chemicals as warning signs and switch on their defenses.

Let yourself be carried away

Enter the tunnel, designed by Ton Harrevel, and notice how instinctively you react to scents. They do something to you. They evoke emotions and memories that are different for everyone. Perhaps you are disgusted by something that someone else sniffs with bliss. Perhaps you suddenly remember a forgotten love or that you had to throw up in the playground. Don't wonder what you smell in the tunnel - feel what it triggers in you.