Musée des Egouts / Sewer Museum of Brussels

This unique museum takes you on an extraordinary journey under the ground. You will learn more about the hidden river of Brussel, the Senne, take a walk on the banks of a sewer collector for about fifty meters, learn more about the water cycle in the city and discover how the sewer workers – our underground heroes – do the maintenance and repair our sewer system.

The museum is housed in two former neoclassical-style granting pavilions. Photos, models and various objects reveal the importance of what is happening under our feet. From the open-air Senne to its 19th century vault, archival photos offer a glimpse into its tumultuous history. This hidden river is revealed for about forty meters. The visitors can also walk along the banks of a sewer collector – always in service – for about fifty meters.
The museum aims to raise awareness around the water management in the city, the impact of soil sealing and climate change, the crucial role of the sewer workers and how the sewer network is built as well as the functioning of the wastewater treatment plants.
These topics are addressed during guided visits with very different publics: adults, schools, families, differentiated publics... In addition, the museum proposes workshops or activities during the holidays or events (Brussels Water Days, Museum Nights, Heritage Days,..).
Since recently, the museum also wants to propose scientific activities for instance: measuring the water quality of the river Senne.

Exhibitions:

RATTUS
Rattus norvegicus is the name of an often not very appreciated rodent that elected domicile in our sewer network. But, who is he and how does he live? It turns out we know more about polar bears than about our own urban rats. This exhibition will inform you about the ecology and behavior of Rattus norvegicus and his complicated love-hate relations with humans. Opening: 15 September 2023

Projects

Interactive guided visit + active visit

From the tap to the wastewater treatment plant, from the ovoid sewer to the collector sewer – follow the meandering path of our urban waterways. You will learn how brushing your teeth, taking a bath or washing your clothes has a direct impact on the functioning of the sewers! An extraordinary and enlightening trip into the bowels of the city!

During the active visit, several multi-sensorial activities are proposed: puzzle on the water cycle, sound and scent games, a scale model,...

Schools/groups: 7 years +

Visits can be adapted to differentiated publics (visually impaired, hearing impaired, illiterate, foreign speakers,..)

Explorer’s notebook

Take our mascot on a journey and discover the Sewer Museum, thanks to the games and puzzles in the explorer’s notebook! Your mission, if you choose to accept it:

Find out about the importance of water in the historical development of Brussels
Understand the role sewers play in a city
Discover the incredible profession of a sewage worker
Learn to appreciate the importance of preserving water for our planet and those who inhabit it

Don’t forget your boots and torch!

Ideal for:8 to 12 years

New: Ecosystem Senne

Come with your students and explore the mysterious ecosystem of the river Senne. However invisible due to the fact that she flows underground, the Senne plays an important role in the urban water cycle. Therefore, the impact of Humans on this ecosystem is multiple. By following the scientific approach, students will attempt to quantify these impacts by measuring the physical, chemical and biological water quality and as well as the hydromorphology of the river.

School: 4^th, 5^th and 6^th secondary school

Start as of September 2023

Schafttijd - Testimonies of Sewer Workers

A project with the AMSAB-Institute for Social History. With the project, we first want to collect, inventory and register testimonials about meal times so that they can be preserved in the long term. In addition, we are also looking for new stories that provide even more information about the countless ways in which meal time was and is spent among sewers.

https://schafttijd.org/

SmartWater

This collaborative project aims to monitor the water quality of pounds and rivers in Brussels in order to improve the water management. It gathers researchers, administrations, non-profit organizations and citizens. Through different experimental labs, divers approaches are deployed: robots that measure the water quality continuously, probes that are used punctually during events and workshops to inform curious citizens about their water. The Sewer Museum collaborates as a place to inform and raise awareness about these societal issues.

https://www.smartwater.brussels/

“Here begins the Sea”

The Sewer Museum is one of the promotors of this campaign in Brussels. Citizens often treat drains as rubbish bins, throwing their cigarette butts and other small waste into them. Large waste is prevented from entering the drains thanks to an internal filter. Unfortunately though, this isn’t enough to stop smaller items of rubbish, such as cigarette butts and small plastic wrappers, or liquid products, such as oils, paints and other dangerous products, getting through. Some residents also dispose of the dead leaves that litter their pavements or driveways in the drains. Big mistake! If the gutters are blocked, surface water is unable to drain away and the roads will flood.

https://www.coordinationsenne.be/fr/icicommencelamer.php

Vidéo 2023: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=EGQ8VSN9mj8

Your visit at the Sewer Museum of Brussels

Water management in Brussels / part 1 : these three video’s show the importance of a sustainable approach on our water management and how rainwater must not be seen as a waste that needs to be carried away but as a resource instead.

Water management in Brussels / part 2 : these three video’s show the importance of a sustainable approach on our water management and how rainwater must not be seen as a waste that needs to be carried away but as a resource instead.

Water management in Brussels / Part 3 : these three video’s show the importance of a sustainable approach on our water management and how rainwater must not be seen as a waste that needs to be carried away but as a resource instead.

A collection of photos of tags, graffiti and doodles from the toilets of bars or stations and other locations. Only the Sewer Museum could make create such an exhibit in 2018. Our “hidden corners” are one of the rare public spaces that escape general surveillance. It is therefore possible to express yourself anonymously, without censorship!

Brussels, Belgium

Projects

Itineraries

Oh la balade!

Gallery