A Guide to Constructing the Museum in Animal Crossing: New Horizons

Building the museum in Animal Crossing: New Horizons is a key aspect of island life, especially if you want to enjoy its beautiful halls and expand your collection. Plus, you’ll want to pay regular visits to Blathers, who has been a beloved character in the series for ages. It’s no wonder that getting this charming building up and running is a top priority for many players.

The museum is more expansive, visually stunning, and better than ever, allowing you to curate an impressive collection from your donations of fish, bugs, and fossils. However, before you can start adding to your collection, you need to ensure Blathers knows your island is the perfect spot for him to set up shop. Here’s how to build the museum in Animal Crossing: New Horizons and unlock some special features along the way. Hoo hoo!

On your first full day on the island, Tom Nook will give you a DIY crafting lesson, during which he’ll provide you with the recipes for the net and fishing rod. After crafting both for the first time, he’ll express his eagerness to see what you catch.

“I’m quite curious about the local fauna,” he’ll say.

This might seem like an odd comment from Nook, but don’t overlook it. Grab your net and fishing rod, and catch five fish or bugs (or a mix of both) to bring back to Tom Nook as soon as you can. When you talk to him with your pockets full of critters, a new prompt will appear: “I found a creature!” Select this option and hand over five specimens. Nook will then call our old friend Blathers.

Blathers is eager to set up a museum on your island and is excited to learn about the fauna and fossils you’ve discovered. But first, you’ll need to find a spot for his tent, just like you did for your own.

Choose wisely, as the location you pick for Blathers’ tent will eventually become the museum’s permanent site.

You’ll have to wait until the next in-game day for Blathers to arrive in his tent, but make sure to chat with him right away.

To open a full-fledged museum instead of just a tent, Blathers needs your help to gather more exhibit entries. You’ll need to provide him with 15 additional exhibits—fish, bugs, and fossils—to get the green light for the museum.

To assist you in this task, Blathers will give you the recipes for the vaulting pole, a handy tool that lets you jump over rivers to explore more of your island, and the shovel, which allows you to dig for fossils.

Once you’ve donated enough critters and fossils, Blathers will stop accepting donations and will receive the necessary permission to open the museum.

However, there’s a catch. While the museum will feel almost real at this point, it won’t actually open for a little while. The day after you provide Blathers with everything he needs, the museum will be under construction. It won’t be until two in-game days after your last conversation with Blathers that the museum will finally open. But trust me, the wait is worth it.

In the meantime, if you catch more bugs or fish or find additional fossils, it’s a good idea to store them in your home until you can donate them to Blathers—especially if you’re aiming to complete your museum. You can track what you’ve donated and what you still need in your Critterpedia, where anything you’ve already contributed will be marked with a small owl icon.