Animal Crossing: New Horizons is finally out for switch, and with it, all of the features that you loved and adored from previous games are also there including the museum. So if you want to build one of your own, here we will show you How to Unlock Museum in Animal Crossing New Horizons.
Blathers the Owl owns the museum in Animal Crossing. Here, you can essentially donate your findings, and assess your discoveries to understand their importance. Villagers will be able to see your contributions and appreciate them as well.
Animal Crossing New Horizons Museum
Have you met Tom Nook yet? Of course, you have, he’s the fellow who’s going to be helping you set up the museum. However, running a museum is no small thing, you need an expert to manage the entire thing.
For this, Tom Nook wants to somehow get Blathers the Owl to come to the island. To do that, Tom Nook wants you to gather either five fish or bugs.
Once you finally hand in the final specimen, Blathers will call in confirming that he is, indeed, moving to the island.
How to Set up the Museum in Animal Crossing New Horizons
Right after you hand in your final specimen, Tom Nook will give you a tent to set up for Blathers. An important point, which may be integral to your entire gameplay, is the placement of this very tent.
What you want to do is, keep it next to the shore, so that whenever you find something, you can quickly take it back without having to worry about too much distance.
The tent can be made a museum by bringing the Owl either 15 fish, bugs, or fossils. This will then make a museum at that very spot where the tent previously was.
While you’re at this stage, make sure you ask Blathers about how you can make a shovel that can help you dig up some fossils. You can turn these fossils into the museum, but be sure to do that before Blathers decides to close the museum!
Unlocking the museum will give you the recipes for making the shovel and vaulting pole, which will further help your excavation throughout the island.
ACNH Museum Layout
Apart from the exterior and the foyer, the Museum is divided into four wings:
- Bug
- Fish
- Fossil
- Art
All four of these exhibits are home to different things. For example, the Bug exhibit contains the butterfly house. The Fossil wing is home to fossils you donate; the fish exhibit has the aquarium. And lastly, the newest expansion to the museum, the art exhibit, showcases art you donate to Blathers.
What can I do at the Museum?
The museum is where you will be turning in all of your new discoveries. All specimens that you have collected, are displayed there.
You can also bring any unidentified fossils to Blathers which will allow him to identify it. If the fossil is one that you already have in your collection, you can always sell it at a higher price for a profit.
How to upgrade the Museum in Animal Crossing New Horizons
Once you’ve set up the museum and figured out what exactly you will be using it for, it’s time you also upgrade it further to enhance it aesthetically and functionally.
The 1.2.0 update allows Blathers to accept artwork as a donation, but if only you’ve made it so far, to do so. You’ll have to donate a combination of 60 bugs, fishes, and fossils to the museum to have the art accepted.
Once that’s done, go and talk to Blathers, where he’ll mention he wants to expand the museum by showcasing artwork; however, he doesn’t have a place to display them yet.
Later the next day, during her regular broadcast, Isabelle will mention that a ‘suspicious character’ has been spotted in the island’s different areas. Once you hear this announcement, go to the island and search for Redd.
Once you find him nearby the beach, talk to him. He’ll offer you an art piece for an inflated price; however, the more you talk to him, he’ll give you the ‘Cousin Discount’ that’ll bring the final price to 4,980 Bells.
Now that you’ve finally acquired the art piece at a reasonable price, you can donate it to Blathers at the museum. As that’s done, Blathers will also apply to expand the museum by having a brand new Art Gallery to showcase the art pieces.
Don’t be too impatient for the update as it’ll take two whole days, and once it’s done, the museum will reopen yet again.
How to Move the Museum
Did you know you can also relocate your museum? It is a great way to change locations and move to an area accessible of donations and doesn’t take a lot of time to go back and forth.
First, talk to Tom Nook at Resident Services and opt for the ‘Let’s Talk About Infrastructure’ option.
It’ll cost you about 50,000 bells to relocate the building, so only progress further if you have that much money.
Now, choose the ‘I Want Layout Changes’ and select museum for your relocation. You’ll have different locations as your options for the new area, so choose whatever you like the most.
After choosing the new area, use the moving kit from your pocket to view how the museums will look in the new location before you press confirm. We suggest you be very sure about the relocation as it can’t be changed once you hit the confirm button.
And once that is done, it will take about a day for the relocation, and you’ll successfully move to another area.
Museum Stamp Rally
The International Stamp Rally was held from May 18 to May 31, 2021. Players were able to participate in it with a free update. Blathers held the event, which was jam-packed with many rewards. Following is the list of all stamp station locations.
Bug Gallery Stamps
There were three stamp stations here, but the locations were from one of these places.
- Bug Farms
- Butterfly Garden
- Hiding Bugs
- Quiet Bench
- Shady Path
- Singing Forest
- Sun-Peek Path
- The Lab
- Coconut Corner
- Dragonfly Bridge
- Giant Tree
Fossil Gallery Stamps
There were three stamp stations here, but the locations were from one of these places.
- Vertebrates
- Synapsids
- Mollusks/Arthropods
- Pterosaurs
- Extinction Spot
- Cenozoic
- Aquatic Reptiles
Fish Gallery Stamps
There were three stamp stations here, but the locations were from one of these places.
- The Pond
- The Coast
- Big River
- The Deep
- Coral Reef
- Abyss
- Serenity Tank
- Jellyfish Floor
- Icy Sea
- Headwaters
Art Gallery Stamps
There were three stamp stations here, but the locations were from one of these places.
- Sculpture Exhibit
- Art from the East
- Baroque Gallery
- Art from the West
