Natural History Museum, London

{{Short description|Museum in South Kensington, London}} {{For|other natural history museums|List of natural history museums}} {{Use British English|date=December 2025}} {{Use dmy dates|date=August 2014}} {{Infobox museum | name = Natural History Museum | logo = Natural History Museum London logo (large).svg | image = File:Natural History Museum London front facade 2025 dllu.jpg | caption = Front façade of the museum in September 2025 | map_type = Central London | former_name = | established = {{Start date and age|1881|df=yes}} | location = Kensington & Chelsea, London, {{postcode|SW|7}}<br />England | coordinates = {{coord|51|29|46|N|00|10|35|W|type:landmark_region:GB|display=inline,title}} | type = Natural history museum | visitors = 7,116,929 in 2025<ref name=ALVA>{{cite web |title=LATEST VISITOR FIGURES |website=ALVA|url=https://www.alva.org.uk/details.cfm?p=423 |access-date=17 March 2026}}</ref> | founder = Richard Owen | director = Doug Gurr | public_transit = {{ubl|{{rail-interchange|london|underground}} {{lus|South Kensington}}|{{rint|London|bus}} Kensington Museums 360| Victoria & Albert Museum 14, 74, C1}} | website = {{URL|www.nhm.ac.uk}} }}

The '''Natural History Museum''' in London, England, is a museum that exhibits a vast range of specimens from various segments of natural history. It is one of three major museums on Exhibition Road in South Kensington, the others being the Science Museum and the Victoria and Albert Museum. The Natural History Museum's main frontage, however, is on Cromwell Road.

The museum is home to life and earth science specimens comprising some 80 million items within five main collections: botany, entomology, mineralogy, palaeontology and zoology. The museum is a centre of research specialising in taxonomy, identification and conservation. Given the age of the institution, many of the collections have great historical as well as scientific value, such as specimens collected by Charles Darwin. The museum is particularly famous for its exhibition of dinosaur skeletons and ornate architecture—sometimes dubbed a ''cathedral of nature''—both exemplified by the large ''Diplodocus'' cast that dominated the vaulted central hall before it was replaced in 2017 with the skeleton of a blue whale hanging from the ceiling. The Natural History Museum Library contains an extensive collection of books, journals, manuscripts, and artwork linked to the work and research of the scientific departments; access to the library is by appointment only. The museum is recognised as the pre-eminent centre of natural history and research of related fields in the world.

Although commonly referred to as the Natural History Museum, it was officially known as '''British Museum (Natural History)''' until 1992, despite legal separation from the British Museum itself in 1963. Originating from collections within the British Museum, the landmark Alfred Waterhouse building was built and opened by 1881 and later incorporated the Geological Museum. The Darwin Centre is a more recent addition, partly designed as a modern facility for storing the valuable collections.

Like other publicly funded national museums in the United Kingdom, the Natural History Museum does not charge an admission fee.<ref>{{Cite web|url=https://www.telegraph.co.uk/news/uknews/1331446/Natural-History-Museum-scraps-9-fee.html |archive-url=https://ghostarchive.org/archive/20220111/https://www.telegraph.co.uk/news/uknews/1331446/Natural-History-Museum-scraps-9-fee.html |archive-date=11 January 2022 |url-access=subscription |url-status=live|title=Natural History Museum scraps £9 fee|website=www.telegraph.co.uk|date=24 May 2001 }}{{cbignore}}</ref> The museum is an exempt charity and a non-departmental public body sponsored by the Department for Culture, Media and Sport.<ref>{{cite web|url=http://www.nhm.ac.uk/about-us/corporate-information/museum-governance/index.html |title=Museum governance |publisher=The Natural History Museum |access-date=14 March 2010}}</ref><ref>{{Cite web|title=Natural History Museum|url=https://www.gov.uk/government/organisations/natural-history-museum|access-date=2023-04-04|website=gov.uk}}</ref> The Princess of Wales is a patron of the museum.<ref>{{cite news|url=http://www.today.com/news/duchess-kate-become-patron-three-new-charities-6C9539365|title=Duchess Kate to become patron of three new charities|first1=Lily |last1=Harrison |first2=Lindsey |last2=Caldwell|work=Today News|date=22 April 2013}}</ref> There are approximately 850 staff at the museum. The two largest strategic groups are the Public Engagement Group and the Science Group.<ref>{{cite web|url=http://www.nhm.ac.uk/about-us/museum-information/index.html|title=Our vision|work=nhm.ac.uk}}</ref>

== History ==

=== Early history === [[File:Natural History Museum 1881.JPG|thumb|right|An 1881 plan showing the original arrangement of the museum<br />([https://www.nhm.ac.uk/content/dam/nhm-www/visit/map/Museum-map.pdf link to current floor plans])]]

The foundation of the collection was that of the Ulster doctor Sir Hans Sloane (1660–1753), who allowed his significant collections to be purchased by the British Government at a price well below their market value at the time. This purchase was funded by a lottery.<ref>{{Cite web |title=The British Museum Story: Sir Hans Sloane |url=https://www.britishmuseum.org/about-us/british-museum-story/sir-hans-sloane |website=British Museum}}</ref> Sloane's collection, which included dried plants, and animal and human skeletons, was initially housed in Montagu House, Bloomsbury, in 1756, which was the home of the British Museum.<ref>{{Cite web |title=The British Museum Story: History |url=https://www.britishmuseum.org/about-us/british-museum-story/history |website=British Museum}}</ref>

Most of the Sloane collection had disappeared by the early decades of the nineteenth century. Dr George Shaw (Keeper of Natural History 1806–1813) sold many specimens to the Royal College of Surgeons and had periodic ''cremations'' of material in the grounds of the museum. His successors also applied to the trustees for permission to destroy decayed specimens.<ref name="leach">{{cite book|last1=Harrison|first1=Keith|last2=Smith|first2=Eric|title=Rifle-Green by Nature: A Regency Naturalist and his Family, William Elford Leach|date=2008|publisher=Ray Society|location=London|isbn=9780903874359|pages=265–266}}</ref> In 1833, the Annual Report states that, of the 5,500 insects listed in the Sloane catalogue, none remained. The inability of the natural history departments to conserve their specimens became notorious: the Treasury refused to entrust them with specimens collected at the government's expense. Appointments of staff were bedevilled by gentlemanly favouritism; in 1862, a nephew of the mistress of a Trustee was appointed Entomological Assistant despite not knowing the difference between a butterfly and a moth.<ref>{{cite book|last1=Gunther|first1=Albert E.|title=A Century of Zoology at the British Museum through the Lives of Two Keepers, 1815–1914|date=1975|publisher=Dawsons|location=London|isbn=9780712906180|page=367 |url=https://books.google.com/books?id=Kg4KAAAAMAAJ&q=moth}}</ref><ref name="Barber"/><ref>{{cite book|last1=Gunther|first1=Albert E.|title=The Founders of Science at the British Museum, 1753–1900|date=1980|publisher=Halesworth Press|location=Halesworth, Suffolk|isbn=9780950727608}}</ref>

J. E. Gray (Keeper of Zoology 1840–1874) complained of the incidence of mental illness amongst staff: George Shaw threatened to put his foot on any shell not in the 12th edition of Linnaeus' ''Systema Naturae''; another had removed all the labels and registration numbers from entomological cases arranged by a rival. The huge collection of the conchologist Hugh Cuming was acquired by the museum, and Gray's wife had carried the open trays across the courtyard in a gale: all the labels blew away.<ref name="Barber">{{cite book|last1=Barber|first1=Lynn|title=The Heyday of Natural History: 1829–1870|date=1980|publisher=Cape|location=London|isbn=9780224014489|chapter=Omnium Gatherum|pages=160–167 |chapter-url=https://archive.org/details/heydayofnaturalh0000barb/page/160/mode/1up?view=theater}}</ref> That collection is said never to have recovered.

The Principal Librarian at the time was Antonio Panizzi; his contempt for the natural history departments and for science in general was total.<ref name="Barber"/> The general public was not encouraged to visit the museum's natural history exhibits. In 1835 to a Select Committee of Parliament, Sir Henry Ellis said this policy was fully approved by the Principal Librarian and his senior colleagues.<ref name="Barber"/>

Many of these faults were corrected by the palaeontologist Richard Owen, appointed Superintendent of the natural history departments of the British Museum in 1856. His changes led Bill Bryson to write that "by making the Natural History Museum an institution for everyone, Owen transformed our expectations of what museums are for".<ref>{{cite book|last1=Bryson|first1=Bill|author-link1=Bill Bryson|title=A Short History of Nearly Everything|date=2010|publisher=Doubleday|location=London|isbn=9781409095484|url=https://books.google.com/books?id=m3Yfj-KWgCEC&dq=%22by+making+the+Natural+History+Museum+an%22&pg=PA123|page=123}}</ref>

=== Planning and architecture of new building === Owen saw that the natural history departments needed more space, and that implied a separate building, as the British Museum site was limited. Land in South Kensington was purchased, and in 1864 a competition was held to design the new museum. Only thirty-three submissions were made, many of which contained elements of the Renaissance style.<ref name="Bullen 2006 257–285">{{Cite journal |last=Bullen |first=J. B. |date=2006 |title=Alfred Waterhouse's Romanesque 'Temple of Nature': The Natural History Museum, London |url=http://www.jstor.org/stable/40033825 |journal=Architectural History |volume=49 |pages=257–285 |doi=10.1017/S0066622X00002781 |jstor=40033825 |issn=0066-622X|url-access=subscription }}</ref> The winning entry was submitted by the civil engineer Captain Francis Fowke, who died shortly afterwards in December 1865.<ref name="historicengland.org.uk">{{Cite web |title=Natural History Museum, Front Lodge and Gates, Gatepiers and Railings, Non Civil Parish - 1080675 {{!}} Historic England |url=https://historicengland.org.uk/listing/the-list/list-entry/1080675?section=official-list-entry |access-date=2024-12-12 |website=historicengland.org.uk |language=en}}</ref> To give the project to the second-place winner would have been viewed as disrespectful to Fowke's memory, and instead the decision was made to expand on his original plans.<ref name="Bullen 2006 257–285"/> The scheme was taken over by Alfred Waterhouse, who was hired in February 1866,<ref name="Yanni 276–299">{{Cite journal |last=Yanni |first=Carla |date=1996–2009 |title=Divine Display or Secular Science: Defining Nature at the Natural History Museum in London |url=https://online.ucpress.edu/jsah/article/55/3/276/46221/Divine-Display-or-Secular-Science-Defining-Nature |journal=Journal of the Society of Architectural Historians |volume=55 |issue=3 |pages=276–299 |doi=10.2307/991149|jstor=991149 |url-access=subscription }}</ref> and who substantially revised the agreed plans, and designed the façades in his own idiosyncratic Romanesque style, which was inspired by his frequent visits to the Continent.<ref>{{cite web| url=http://www.architecture.com/LibraryDrawingsAndPhotographs/Albertopolis/TheStoryOf/NaturalHistoryMuseum/Interior.aspx| title=Interior of the NHM| publisher=Royal Institute of British Architects| access-date=14 December 2010| url-status=dead| archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20120119053417/http://www.architecture.com/LibraryDrawingsAndPhotographs/Albertopolis/TheStoryOf/NaturalHistoryMuseum/Interior.aspx| archive-date=19 January 2012| df=dmy-all}}</ref> The original plans included wings on either side of the main building, but these plans were soon abandoned for budgetary reasons. Initially, Waterhouse's approximate cost was £495,000, but after further discussion was revised to £330,000.<ref name="historicengland.org.uk"/> The space these would have occupied are now taken by the Earth Galleries and Darwin Centre. Waterhouse spent time with those in charge of each department of the museum to learn more about their needs, which helped him clarify his plans before construction began.<ref name="Yanni 276–299"/> thumb|The ''Comic News'' reporting on the movement to South Kensington in 1863Work began in 1873 and was completed in 1880. The new museum opened on 18 April 1881,<ref>{{cite book |title=Nature's Cathedral |date=2020 |publisher=Natural History Museum |location=London |isbn=978-0-565-09483-6 |page=11}}</ref> although the move from the old museum was not fully completed until 1883. The museum received both positive and negative reviews by the media upon its opening, but most viewed the museum as a positive contribution to society.<ref name="historicengland.org.uk"/> In addition to routine maintenance, the building has been altered over the years, especially after it sustained damage in World War II.<ref name="historicengland.org.uk"/>

Both the interiors and exteriors of the Waterhouse building make extensive use of architectural terracotta tiles to resist the sooty atmosphere of Victorian London, manufactured by the Tamworth-based company of Gibbs and Canning. The tiles and bricks feature many relief sculptures of flora and fauna, with living and extinct species featured within the west and east wings respectively. This explicit separation was at the request of Owen, and has been seen as a statement of his contemporary rebuttal of Darwin's attempt to link present species with the past through the theory of natural selection.<ref>{{cite web|url=http://www.nhm.ac.uk/visit-us/history-architecture/architecture-tour/design/decoration/index.html|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20110608182831/http://www.nhm.ac.uk/visit-us/history-architecture/architecture-tour/design/decoration/index.html|title=Decoration|archive-date=8 June 2011|work=nhm.ac.uk}}</ref> Though Waterhouse slipped in a few anomalies, such as bats amongst the extinct animals and a fossil ammonite with the living species. The sculptures were produced from clay models by a French sculptor based in London, M Dujardin, working to drawings prepared by the architect.<ref>{{cite book |title=Nature's Cathedral |date=2021 |publisher=Natural History Museum |location=London |isbn=9780565094836 |page=19}}</ref>

The central axis of the museum is aligned with the tower of Imperial College London (formerly the Imperial Institute) and the Royal Albert Hall and Albert Memorial further north. These all form part of the complex known colloquially as Albertopolis.

=== Separation from the British Museum === thumb|upright=1.25|The central hall of the museum

Even after the opening, the Natural History Museum legally remained a department of the British Museum with the formal name '''British Museum (Natural History)''', usually abbreviated in the scientific literature as ''B.M.(N.H.)''. A petition to the Chancellor of the Exchequer was made in 1866, signed by the heads of the Royal, Linnean and Zoological societies as well as naturalists including Darwin, Wallace and Huxley, asking that the museum gain independence from the board of the British Museum, and heated discussions on the matter continued for nearly one hundred years. Finally, with the passing of the British Museum Act 1963, the British Museum (Natural History) became an independent museum with its own board of trustees, although – despite a proposed amendment to the act in the House of Lords – the former name was retained. In 1989 the museum publicly re-branded itself as the Natural History Museum and stopped using the title British Museum (Natural History) on its advertising and its books for general readers. Only with the Museums and Galleries Act 1992 did the museum's formal title finally change to the '''Natural History Museum'''.

=== Geological Museum === {{Main|Geological Museum}} thumb|The Geological Museum building In 1985, the museum merged with the adjacent Geological Museum of the British Geological Survey,<ref>{{cite journal |title=Written Answer: Geological and British Museums HC Deb 31 July 1984 |journal=Hansard |date=1984 |volume=65 |page=c185W |url=https://api.parliament.uk/historic-hansard/written-answers/1984/jul/31/geological-and-british-museums}}</ref><ref>{{cite book |last1=Hackett |first1=Dennis |title=Our corporate history. Key events affecting the British Geological Survey, 1967–1998 |date=1999 |publisher=British Geological Survey |edition=Technical Report, WQ/99/1 |url=http://earthwise.bgs.ac.uk/index.php/Our_corporate_history._Key_events_affecting_the_British_Geological_Survey_1967%E2%80%931998_(report)}}</ref> which had long competed for the limited space available in the area. The Geological Museum became world-famous for exhibitions including an active volcano model and an earthquake machine (designed by James Gardner), and housed the world's first computer-enhanced exhibition (''Treasures of the Earth''). The museum's galleries were completely rebuilt and relaunched in 1996 as ''The Earth Galleries'', with the other exhibitions in the Waterhouse building retitled ''The Life Galleries''. The Natural History Museum's own mineralogy displays remain largely unchanged as an example of the 19th-century display techniques of the Waterhouse building.

The central atrium design by Neal Potter overcame visitors' reluctance to visit the upper galleries by "pulling" them through a model of the Earth made up of random plates on an escalator. The new design covered the walls in recycled slate and sandblasted the major stars and planets onto the wall. The museum's 'star' geological exhibits are displayed within the walls. Six iconic figures were the backdrop to discussing how previous generations have viewed Earth. These were later removed to make place for a ''Stegosaurus'' skeleton that was put on display in late 2015.

=== The Darwin Centre ===

The Darwin Centre (named after Charles Darwin) was designed as a new home for the museum's collection of tens of millions of preserved specimens, as well as new work spaces for the museum's scientific staff and new educational visitor experiences. Built in two distinct phases, with two new buildings adjacent to the main Waterhouse building, it is the most significant new development project in the museum's history.

Phase one of the Darwin Centre opened to the public in 2002, and it houses the zoological department's 'spirit collections'—organisms preserved in alcohol. Phase Two was unveiled in September 2008 and opened to the general public in September 2009. It was designed by the Danish architecture practice C. F. Møller Architects in the shape of a giant, eight-story cocoon and houses the entomology and botanical collections—the 'dry collections'.<ref>{{cite news|url=https://news.bbc.co.uk/2/hi/science/nature/7594295.stm|title=Museum 'cocoon' prepares to open |work=BBC News|access-date=20 January 2009|date=2 September 2008}}</ref> It is possible for members of the public to visit and view non-exhibited items for a fee by booking onto one of the several Spirit Collection Tours offered daily.<ref name="nhm.ac.uk">{{Cite web|url=http://www.nhm.ac.uk/events/behind-the-scenes-tour-the-spirit-collection.html|title=Behind-the-Scenes Tour: Spirit Collection {{!}} Natural History Museum|website=www.nhm.ac.uk|access-date=2017-10-20}}</ref>

Arguably the most famous creature in the centre is the 8.62-metre-long giant squid, affectionately named Archie.<ref>{{cite web|url=http://www.nhm.ac.uk/about-us/news/2006/feb/news_5255.html|title=Giant squid goes on display|work=nhm.ac.uk|access-date=14 March 2006|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20060420195441/http://www.nhm.ac.uk/about-us/news/2006/feb/news_5255.html|archive-date=20 April 2006|url-status=dead|df=dmy-all}}</ref>

=== The Attenborough Studio === As part of the museum's remit to communicate science education and conservation work, a new multimedia studio forms an important part of Darwin Centre Phase 2. In collaboration with the BBC's Natural History Unit (holder of the largest archive of natural history footage) the Attenborough Studio—named after the broadcaster Sir David Attenborough—provides a multimedia environment for educational events. The studio holds regular lectures and demonstrations, including free [http://www.nhm.ac.uk/visit/exhibitions/nature-live.html Nature Live] talks on Fridays, Saturdays and Sundays.

{{anchor|Dippy}} == Major specimens and exhibits == [[File:Diplodocus (replica).001 - London.JPG|thumb|Dippy in the Hintze Hall at the Natural History Museum in 2008|alt=]] One of the most famous and certainly most prominent of the exhibits—nicknamed "Dippy"—is a {{convert|105|ft|m|adj=on}}-long replica of a ''Diplodocus carnegii'' skeleton which was on display for many years within the central hall. The cast was given as a gift by the Scottish-American industrialist Andrew Carnegie, after a discussion with King Edward VII, then a keen trustee of the British Museum. Carnegie paid £2,000 ({{Inflation|UK|2000|1904|fmt=eq|cursign=£}}) for the casting, copying the original held at the Carnegie Museum of Natural History. The pieces were sent to London in 36 crates, and on 12 May 1905, the exhibit was unveiled to great public and media interest. The real fossil had yet to be mounted, as the Carnegie Museum in Pittsburgh was still being constructed to house it. As word of Dippy spread, Mr Carnegie paid to have additional copies made for display in most major European capitals and in Central and South America, making Dippy the most-viewed dinosaur skeleton in the world. The dinosaur quickly became an iconic representation of the museum, and has featured in many cartoons and other media, including the 1975 Disney comedy ''One of Our Dinosaurs Is Missing''. After 112 years on display at the museum, the dinosaur replica was removed in early 2017 to be replaced by the actual skeleton of a young blue whale, a 128-year-old skeleton nicknamed "Hope".<ref>{{cite news |title=Coldplay prove they're not fossils as they play Natural History Museum gig |url=https://www.bbc.co.uk/news/entertainment-arts-50556916 |access-date=26 November 2019 |agency=BBC}}</ref> Dippy went on a tour of various British museums starting in 2018 and concluding in 2020 at Norwich Cathedral.<ref>{{cite news |url=https://www.theguardian.com/science/2017/jan/01/dippy-diplodocus-london-tour-replica-dinosaur-whale-natural-history-museum |title=Dippy's last days: diplodocus leaves London after 112 years for farewell UK tour |first=Tracy |last=McVeigh |work=The Observer |date= 1 January 2017}}</ref><ref name="telegraph 2017">{{cite news |url=https://www.telegraph.co.uk/news/2017/01/04/dippy-diplodocus-bids-farewell-public-natural-history-museum/ |archive-url=https://ghostarchive.org/archive/20220111/https://www.telegraph.co.uk/news/2017/01/04/dippy-diplodocus-bids-farewell-public-natural-history-museum/ |archive-date=11 January 2022 |url-access=subscription |url-status=live |title=Dippy the Diplodocus bids farewell to his public at the Natural History Museum |first=George|last= Fuller|date=4 January 2017 |work=The Daily Telegraph }}{{cbignore}}</ref><ref>{{cite web |url=https://www.nhm.ac.uk/take-part/dippy-on-tour.html |title=Dippy on Tour: A Natural History Adventure|work=Natural History Museum}}</ref>

[[File:NHM Whale.jpg|thumb|left|Whale skeleton, nicknamed Hope, in the Hintze Hall]] The blue whale skeleton, Hope, that has replaced Dippy, is another prominent display in the museum. The display of the skeleton, some {{convert|82|feet|m}} long and weighing 4.5 tonnes, was only made possible in 1934 with the building of the '''New Whale Hall''' (now the '''Mammals (blue whale model) gallery'''). The whale had been in storage for 42 years since its stranding on sandbanks at the mouth of Wexford Harbour, Ireland in March 1891 after being injured by whalers.<ref name="telegraph 2017"/> At this time, it was first displayed in the Mammals (blue whale model) gallery, but now takes pride of place in the museum's Hintze Hall. Discussion of the idea of a life-sized model also began around 1934, and work was undertaken within the Whale Hall itself. Since taking a cast of such a large animal was deemed prohibitively expensive, scale models were used to meticulously piece the structure together. During construction, workmen left a trapdoor within the whale's stomach, which they would use for surreptitious cigarette breaks. Before the door was closed and sealed forever, some coins and a telephone directory were placed inside—this soon grew to an urban myth that a time capsule was left inside. The work was completed—entirely within the hall and in view of the public—in 1938. At the time it was the largest such model in the world, at {{convert|92|feet|m}} in length. The construction details were later borrowed by several American museums, who scaled the plans further. The work involved in removing Dippy and replacing it with Hope was documented in a BBC Television special, ''Horizon: Dippy and the Whale'', narrated by David Attenborough, which was first broadcast on BBC Two on 13 July 2017, the day before Hope was unveiled for public display.<ref>{{Cite news |last=Amos |first=Jonathan |date=2017-07-13 |title=Blue whale takes centre-stage at Natural History Museum |url=https://www.bbc.com/news/science-environment-40582046 |access-date=2024-10-28 |work=BBC News}}</ref>

The Darwin Centre is host to Archie, an 8.62-metre-long giant squid taken alive in a fishing net near the Falkland Islands in 2004. The squid is not on general display, but stored in the large tank room in the basement of the Phase 1 building. It is possible for members of the public to visit and view non-exhibited items behind the scenes for a fee by booking onto one of the several Spirit Collection Tours offered daily.<ref name="nhm.ac.uk"/> On arrival at the museum, the specimen was immediately frozen while preparations commenced for its permanent storage. Since few complete and reasonably fresh examples of the species exist, "wet storage" was chosen, leaving the squid undissected. A 9.45-metre acrylic tank was constructed (by the same team that provide tanks to Damien Hirst), and the body preserved using a mixture of formalin and saline solution.

The museum holds the remains and bones of the "River Thames whale", a northern bottlenose whale that lost its way on 20 January 2006 and swam into the Thames. Although primarily used for research purposes, and held at the museum's storage site at Wandsworth.

''Dinocochlea'', one of the longer-standing mysteries of paleontology (originally thought to be a giant gastropod shell, then a coprolite, and now a concretion of a worm's tunnel), has been part of the collection since its discovery in 1921.

The museum keeps a wildlife garden on its west lawn, on which a potentially new species of insect resembling ''Arocatus roeselii'' was discovered in 2007.<ref>{{cite news|url=http://news.sky.com/story/618991/mystery-insect-bugs-experts|title=Mystery Insect Bugs Experts|publisher=Sky news|date=15 July 2008}}</ref>

== Galleries == {{Unreferenced section|date=November 2021}} The museum is divided into four sets of galleries, or zones, each colour coded to follow a broad theme.<ref name=":0">{{cite web |title=Museum map |url=https://www.nhm.ac.uk/content/dam/nhm-www/visit/map/Museum-map.pdf |access-date=23 August 2025 |website=Natural History Museum |publisher=Natural History Museum, London}}</ref>

=== Red Zone === thumb|The entrance to the Earth Galleries, designed by Neal Potter|alt= This is the zone that can be entered from Exhibition Road, on the East side of the building. It is a gallery themed around the changing history of the Earth.

''Earth's Treasury'' shows specimens of rocks, minerals and gemstones behind glass in a dimly lit gallery. ''Lasting Impressions'' is a small gallery containing specimens of rocks, plants and minerals, of which most can be touched. * Earth Hall (''Stegosaurus'' skeleton) * Human Evolution * Earth's Treasury * Lasting Impressions * Restless Surface * From the Beginning * Volcanoes and Earthquakes

=== Green Zone === thumb|Dodo This zone is accessed from the Cromwell Road entrance via the Hintze Hall and follows the theme of the evolution of the planet. * Birds * Creepy Crawlies * Fossil Marine Reptiles (marine reptiles, a giant sloth, and the Swindon stegosaur ''Dacentrurus'') * Hintze Hall (formerly the Central Hall, with blue whale skeleton and giant sequoia) * Minerals * The Vault * Fossils from the UK * Anning Rooms (exclusive space for members and patrons of the museum) * Investigate Centre * East Pavilion (space for changing Wildlife Photographer of the Year exhibition) * The Waterhouse Gallery (temporary exhibition space)

=== Blue Zone === thumb|upright|Large Mammals Hall To the left of the Hintze Hall, this zone explores the diversity of life on the planet. * Dinosaurs * Fish, Amphibians and Reptiles * Fixing Our Broken Planet * Images of Nature * The Jerwood Gallery (temporary exhibition space) * Marine Invertebrates * Mammals * Mammals Hall (blue whale model) * Treasures in the Cadogan Gallery

=== Orange Zone === thumb|Part of the spirit collection Enables the public to see science at work and also provides spaces for relaxation and contemplation. Accessible from Queens Gate. * Wildlife Garden * Darwin Centre * Zoology Spirit Building * Cocoon

== Highlights of the collection == * Otumpa iron meteorite weighing {{cvt|635|kg}}, found in 1783 in Campo del Cielo, Argentina<ref>{{Cite journal |last=Parish |first=Woodbine |date=January 1997 |title=IV. Notice as to the supposed identity of the large mass meteoric iron now in the British Museum, with the celebrated Otumpa iron described by Rubin de Celis in the Philosophical Transactions for 1786. Communicated in a letter from Woodbine Parish, Esq. F. R. S. to Charles König, Esq. Foreign Secretary of the Royal Society |url=https://royalsocietypublishing.org/doi/10.1098/rstl.1834.0006 |journal=Philosophical Transactions of the Royal Society of London |volume=124 |pages=53–54 |doi=10.1098/rstl.1834.0006|url-access=subscription }}</ref> * Fragments of the Nakhla meteorite from Egypt, the first meteorite to suggest signs of aqueous processes on Mars<ref name=":1">{{Cite web |title=Space highlights: Mars, Moon and meteorites |url=https://www.nhm.ac.uk/discover/space-highlights-mars-moon-meteorites.html |access-date=2025-08-23 |website=www.nhm.ac.uk |language=en}}</ref> * Latrobe nugget, one of the largest known clusters of cubic gold crystals<ref name=":2">{{Cite web |title=The Vault gallery: Natural History Museum |url=https://www.nhm.ac.uk/visit/galleries-and-museum-map/the-vault.html |access-date=2025-08-23 |website=www.nhm.ac.uk |language=en}}</ref> * Apollo 16 Moon rock sample collected in 1972<ref name=":1" /> * Ostro Stone, flawless blue topaz gemstone weighing 9,381 carats, about {{cvt|2|kg}}, the largest of its kind in the world<ref>{{Cite web |title=Largest blue topaz gemstone of its kind goes on display |url=https://www.nhm.ac.uk/discover/news/2016/september/largest-blue-topaz-goes-on-display.html |access-date=2025-08-23 |website=www.nhm.ac.uk |language=en}}</ref> * Aurora Pyramid of Hope, a collection of 296 natural diamonds in a wide variety of colours<ref name=":2" /> * First complete ichthyosaur skull ever discovered (discovered by Joseph Anning in 1811) * First complete skeleton of a plesiosaur ever discovered (discovered by Mary Anning in 1823)<ref>{{Cite web |title=Mary Anning: the unsung hero of fossil discovery |url=https://www.nhm.ac.uk/discover/mary-anning-unsung-hero.html |access-date=2025-08-23 |website=www.nhm.ac.uk |language=en}}</ref> * The plesiosaur ''Attenborosaurus''<ref>{{Cite web |title=Attenborosaurus: a celebrity reptile |url=https://www.nhm.ac.uk/discover/attenborosaurus.html |access-date=2025-08-23 |website=www.nhm.ac.uk |language=en}}</ref> * Cast of a huge skeleton of ''Rhomaleosaurus''<ref>{{Cite web |title=Fossil preparation: How do we get specimens ready for display? |url=https://www.nhm.ac.uk/discover/fossil-preparation.html |access-date=2025-08-23 |website=www.nhm.ac.uk |language=en}}</ref> * First ''Iguanodon'' teeth ever discovered<ref>{{Cite web |title=Iguanodon: the teeth that led to a dinosaur discovery |url=https://www.nhm.ac.uk/discover/the-discovery-of-iguanodon.html |access-date=2025-08-23 |website=www.nhm.ac.uk |language=en}}</ref> * Near complete ''Mantellisaurus'' fossil skeleton<ref>{{Cite web |title=Mantellisaurus: 3D-scanning one of the most complete British dinosaurs |url=https://www.nhm.ac.uk/discover/news/2019/august/3d-scanning-mantellisaurus.html |access-date=2025-08-23 |website=www.nhm.ac.uk |language=en}}</ref> * The most complete ''Stegosaurus'' fossil skeleton ever discovered (nicknamed Sophie)<ref>{{Cite news |date=2014-12-04 |title=Sophie the Stegosaurus debuts at London's Natural History Museum |url=https://www.theguardian.com/science/2014/dec/04/sophie-stegosaurus-london-natural-history-museum |access-date=2025-08-23 |work=The Guardian |language=en-GB |issn=0261-3077}}</ref> * Near complete ''Enigmacursor'' fossil skeleton<ref>{{Cite web |title=New species of 'mystery' dinosaur unveiled at the Natural History Museum |url=https://www.nhm.ac.uk/discover/news/2025/june/new-species-mystery-dinosaur-unveiled-natural-history-museum.html |access-date=2025-08-23 |website=www.nhm.ac.uk |language=en}}</ref> * Large skull of a ''Triceratops''<ref name=":3">{{Cite web |title=Dinosaur collection |url=https://www.nhm.ac.uk/our-science/services/collections/palaeontology/dinosaurs.html |access-date=2025-08-23 |website=www.nhm.ac.uk |language=en}}</ref> * Skeleton of ''Baryonyx''<ref name=":3" /> * Full-sized animatronic model of a ''Tyrannosaurus rex''<ref>{{Cite web |title=Visit the Dinosaurs gallery: Natural History Museum | url=https://www.nhm.ac.uk/visit/galleries-and-museum-map/dinosaurs.html |access-date=2025-08-23 |website=www.nhm.ac.uk |language=en}}</ref> * First specimen of ''Archaeopteryx'' ever discovered, one of only 14 found<ref>{{cite journal |last1=Foth |first1=Christian |last2=Kamp |first2=Thomas van de |last3=Tischlinger |first3=Helmut |last4=Kantelis |first4=Theron |last5=Carney |first5=Ryan M. |last6=Zuber |first6=Marcus |last7=Hamann |first7=Elias |last8=Wallaard |first8=Jonathan J. W. |last9=Lenz |first9=Norbert |last10=Rauhut |first10=Oliver W. M. |last11=Frey |first11=Eberhard |title=A new Archaeopteryx from the lower Tithonian Mörnsheim Formation at Mühlheim (Late Jurassic) |url=https://fr.pensoft.net/article/131671/ |journal=Fossil Record |access-date=27 February 2025 |pages=17–43 |language=en |doi=10.3897/fr.28.131671 |date=3 January 2025|volume=28 |doi-access=free }}</ref> and generally accepted by palaeontologists to be the oldest known bird * Rare dodo skeleton, reconstructed from bones over 1,000 years old<ref>{{Cite web |title=The dodo bird: The real facts about this icon of extinction |url=https://www.nhm.ac.uk/discover/the-dodo-bird-the-real-facts-about-this-icon-of-extinction.html |access-date=2025-08-23 |website=www.nhm.ac.uk |language=en}}</ref> * Only surviving specimen of the Great Auk from the British Isles, collected in 1813 from Papa Westray in the Orkney Islands<ref>{{Cite web |title=When worlds collide: the lesson of the great auk |url=https://www.nhm.ac.uk/discover/worlds-collide-great-auk.html |access-date=2025-08-23 |website=www.nhm.ac.uk |language=en}}</ref> * A complete skeleton of an American mastodon<ref>{{Cite web |title=Missouri Leviathan: The making of an American mastodon |url=https://www.nhm.ac.uk/discover/the-making-of-an-american-mastodon.html |access-date=2025-08-23 |website=www.nhm.ac.uk |language=en}}</ref> * Broken Hill skull, Middle Paleolithic cranium now considered part of a ''Homo heidelbergensis'', discovered in the mine of Broken Hill or Kabwe in Zambia<ref>{{Cite web |title=Dating the Broken Hill skull: Homo heidelbergensis was younger than we thought |url=https://www.nhm.ac.uk/discover/news/2020/april/dating-the-broken-hill-skull--homo-heidelbergensis.html |access-date=2025-08-23 |website=www.nhm.ac.uk |language=en}}</ref> * Gibraltar 1 and Gibraltar 2, two Neanderthal skulls found at Forbes' Quarry in Gibraltar<ref>{{Cite web |title=A new look at the Gibraltar Neanderthals |url=https://www.nhm.ac.uk/discover/news/2019/july/a-new-look-at-the-gibraltar-neanderthals.html |access-date=2025-08-23 |website=www.nhm.ac.uk |language=en}}</ref> * Cross-section of 1,300-year-old giant sequoia, at the museum since 1893<ref>{{Cite web |title=The giant sequoia: preserving a slice of natural history |url=https://www.nhm.ac.uk/discover/giant-sequoia-slice.html |access-date=2025-08-23 |website=www.nhm.ac.uk |language=en}}</ref> * Rare copy of ''The Birds of America'' by John James Audubon, containing illustrations of a wide variety of birds from the United States * Rare first edition of Charles Darwin's ''On the Origin of Species''<ref>{{Cite web |title=Museum highlights: Charles Darwin |url=https://www.nhm.ac.uk/discover/museum-highlights-charles-darwin.html |access-date=2025-08-23 |website=www.nhm.ac.uk |language=en}}</ref> * New dinosaur species discovered by the Natural History Museum, the ''Enigmacursor''. <ref>{{Cite web |date=2025-06-24 |title=Natural History Museum to display rare dog-sized dinosaur |url=https://www.bbc.co.uk/news/articles/cglzy4zndp0o |access-date=2026-02-27 |website=BBC News |language=en-GB}}</ref><ref>{{Cite web |last=Kuta |first=Sarah |title='Enigmatic' Dog-Sized Dinosaur Reveals a New Species That Scampered Around Jurassic North America |url=https://www.smithsonianmag.com/smart-news/enigmatic-dog-sized-dinosaur-reveals-a-new-species-that-scampered-around-jurassic-north-america-180986895/ |access-date=2026-02-27 |website=Smithsonian Magazine |language=en}}</ref>

== Education and research == thumb|upright|A young student at the museum The museum runs a series of educational and public engagement programmes. These include for example a highly praised "How Science Works" hands on workshop for school students demonstrating the use of microfossils in geological research. The museum also played a major role in securing designation of the Jurassic Coast of Devon and Dorset as a UNESCO World Heritage Site and has subsequently been a lead partner in the Lyme Regis Fossil Festivals.

In 2005, the museum launched a project to develop notable gallery characters to patrol display cases, including 'facsimiles' of Carl Linnaeus, Mary Anning, Dorothea Bate and William Smith. They tell stories and anecdotes of their lives and discoveries and aim to surprise visitors.<ref>[http://www.ucl.ac.uk/prehistoric/reviews/05_11_shindler.htm Review by Miles Russell] {{Webarchive|url=https://web.archive.org/web/20110606092730/http://www.ucl.ac.uk/prehistoric/reviews/05_11_shindler.htm |date=6 June 2011 }} of ''Discovering Dorothea: the Life of the Pioneering Fossil-Hunter Dorothea Bate'' by Karolyn Shindler at ucl.ac.uk (accessed 23 November 2007)</ref>

In 2010, a six-part BBC documentary series was filmed at the museum entitled ''Museum of Life'' exploring the history and behind the scenes aspects of the museum.<ref name="Museum of Life">{{cite web | url=http://www.nhm.ac.uk/nature-online/museum-of-life/episode-six/index.html | archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20100830090305/http://www.nhm.ac.uk/nature-online/museum-of-life/index.html | archive-date=30 August 2010 | title=Museum of Life | access-date=5 January 2011 | year=2010 | publisher=The Natural History Museum}}</ref>

Since May 2001, the Natural History Museum admission has been free for some events and permanent exhibitions. However, there are certain temporary exhibits and shows that require a fee.

The Natural History museum combines the museum's life and earth science collections with specialist expertise in "taxonomy, systematics, biodiversity, natural resources, planetary science, evolution and informatics" to tackle scientific questions.<ref>{{citation|url=http://www.nhm.ac.uk/research-curation/|title=Research and curation|publisher=Museum of Natural History|date=n.d.|access-date=22 December 2013}}</ref> In 2011, the museum led the setting up of an International Union for Conservation of Nature Bumblebee Specialist Group, chaired by Dr. Paul H. Williams,<ref name=NHM_BSG>{{citation|url=http://www.nhm.ac.uk/research-curation/life-sciences/terrestrial-invertebrates/research/hymenoptera-research/bumble-bee-research/bumblebee-specialist-group/index.html|title=Bumblebee Specialist Group|access-date=23 December 2013|publisher=Natural History Museum|location=London, UK}}</ref> to assess the threat status of bumblebee species worldwide using Red List criteria.<ref>{{citation|url=http://cmsdata.iucn.org/downloads/bumblebee_sg_proofed.pdf|title=2011 Update|publisher=IUCN|access-date=7 October 2012|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20121203034020/http://cmsdata.iucn.org/downloads/bumblebee_sg_proofed.pdf|archive-date=3 December 2012|url-status=dead}}</ref><ref>{{cite journal |url=http://www.nhm.ac.uk/research-curation/projects/bombus/decline.html |author=Paul H. Williams |year=1986 |title=Environmental change and the distributions of British bumble bees (''Bombus'' Latr.) |journal=Bee World |volume=67|issue=2 |pages=50–61 |doi=10.1080/0005772x.1986.11098871|url-access=subscription }}</ref>

== Access == {| class="wikitable" |- ! Service !! Station/Stop !! Lines/Routes served |- | rowspan="2" | London Buses {{rail-interchange|london|bus}} | Kensington Museums {{access icon}} | 360 |- | Victoria & Albert Museum {{access icon}} || 14, 74, C1 |- | London Underground {{Rail-interchange|london|underground}}||South Kensington|| 100px|link=w:Circle line (London Underground)|alt=Circle line<br />100px|link=w:District line|alt=District line<br />100px|link=w:Piccadilly line|alt=Piccadilly line |}

The closest London Underground station is South Kensington — there is a tunnel from the station that emerges close to the entrances of all three museums. Admission to the museum is free, though there are donation boxes in the foyer.

Museum Lane immediately to the north provides disabled access to the museum.<ref>[http://www.nhm.ac.uk/visit-us/access-guide/museum-entrances/index.html Museum entrances], Natural History Museum.</ref>

A connecting bridge between the Natural History and Science museums closed to the public in the late 1990s.

== In popular culture ==

The museum plays an important role in the 1975 London-based Disney live-action feature ''One of Our Dinosaurs Is Missing''; the eponymous skeleton is stolen from the museum, and a group of intrepid nannies hide inside the mouth of the museum's blue whale model (in fact a specially created prop – the nannies peer out from behind the whale's teeth, but a blue whale is a baleen whale and has no teeth). Additionally, the film is set in the 1920s, before the blue whale model was built.<ref name="film">{{cite web|url=https://www.nhm.ac.uk/visit/museum-on-screen-movies-tv.html|title=The Museum at the movies: 13 chances to see us on screen|work=Natural History Museum|access-date=December 8, 2021}}</ref>

The museum was featured in the 2006 music video for the song, "Friday Night" by McFly, from the soundtrack to the movie, ''Night at the Museum''. The video, shot with various handheld cameras, features the band members as security guards at the museum, and then running around London.

The museum features as a base for Prodigium, a secret society which studies and fights monsters, first appearing on ''{{sortname|The|Mummy|The Mummy (2017 film)}}''.<ref name="film"/><ref>{{cite news|url=https://www.irishtimes.com/culture/film/make-it-stop-mummy-tom-cruise-movie-a-lumbering-waste-of-time-1.3109606|title=Make it stop, Mummy! Tom Cruise movie a lumbering waste of time|newspaper=The Irish Times|last=Clarke|first=Donald|access-date=December 8, 2021}}</ref>

In the 2014 film ''Paddington'', Millicent Clyde (played by Nicole Kidman) is a devious and treacherous taxidermist at the museum. She kidnaps Paddington, intending to kill and stuff him, but is thwarted by the Brown family after scenes involving chases inside and on the roof of the building.<ref name="film"/><ref>{{cite news|last1=O'Connor|first1=Joanne|title=On location: Paddington|url=https://www.ft.com/content/1747ca2a-7a29-11e4-8958-00144feabdc0|archive-url=https://ghostarchive.org/archive/20221210211250/https://www.ft.com/content/1747ca2a-7a29-11e4-8958-00144feabdc0|archive-date=10 December 2022|url-access=subscription|access-date=1 January 2015|work=Financial Times|date=5 December 2014|url-status=live}}</ref>

The museum was prominently featured in the Sky One 2014 documentary David Attenborough's Natural History Museum Alive where several extinct creatures exhibited at the museum including ''Dippy'' the ''Diplodocus'' were brought to life using CGI.

The museum features prominently in the level Lud's Gate from Tomb Raider III, with Core Design launching the game with Jonathan Ross at the museum on 15 October 1998.<ref>{{cite web|url=https://www.virtuallara.com/tr3-events.html|title=Tomb Raider 3 Events|access-date=March 12, 2022}}</ref>

Andy Day's CBeebies shows, ''Andy's Dinosaur Adventures'' and ''Andy's Prehistoric Adventures'' are filmed in the Natural History Museum.<ref name="film"/>

The museum was site of the first Pit Stop on ''The Amazing Race 33''.<ref>{{cite web|url=https://tvline.com/2022/01/05/the-amazing-race-premiere-recap-season-33-episode-1-2-were-back/|title=The Amazing Race Season 33 Premiere Recap: Has Anyone Seen (a) Bobby? — Plus, Who Was Eliminated First?|work=TVLine|last=Caruso|first=Nick|date=January 5, 2022|access-date=January 5, 2022}}</ref>

The museum is featured in the fifth episode of the Apple TV+ period drama ''The Essex Serpent''.<ref>{{cite web|url= https://locationmanagers.org/the-making-of-the-essex-serpent/ |title= The Making of The Essex Serpent|date= 21 October 2022|access-date=November 19, 2023}}</ref>

The museum is featured in the music video for the song "Hordes of Khan", by the Swedish metal band, Sabaton. The song is about Genghis Khan. The video was inspired by ''Night at the Museum''.<ref>{{cite web | title=SABATON - Hordes of Khan (Behind the Scenes Documentary) | website=YouTube | date=3 June 2025 | url=https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=aJZHI8a_HJc }}</ref>

In March 2026 the museum was reported as the UK’s most visited attraction with over 7.1 million visitors in 2025.<ref name=ALVA />

== Natural History Museum at Tring == {{Main|Natural History Museum at Tring}}

The NHM also has an outpost in Tring, Hertfordshire, built by local eccentric Lionel Walter Rothschild. The NHM took ownership in 1938. In 2007, the museum announced that the name would be changed to the '''Natural History Museum at Tring''', though the older name, the Walter Rothschild Zoological Museum, is still in widespread use.

== Move of collections to Harwell or Shinfield == There has been some discussion of plans to move major parts of the collections to a site in Harwell (which was abandoned) and then to the Thames Valley Science Park in Shinfield, Berkshire. These plans have been criticised, together with the overall departure of the strategic direction of the museum.<ref>{{Cite journal |last=Naggs |first=Fred |date=2022-07-11 |title=The tragedy of the Natural History Museum, London |url=https://www.biotaxa.org/megataxa/article/view/megataxa.7.1.2 |journal=Megataxa |volume=7 |issue=1 |doi=10.11646/megataxa.7.1.2 |issn=2703-3090|doi-access=free }}</ref> Construction of the Shinfield facility began in 2025. It is expected to be completed in 2027, with an opening date of 2031.<ref>{{Cite web |last=Stephens|first=Daisy|last2=Elapatha|first2=Neranjana|date=9 September 2025|title=Work starts on Natural History Museum building in Reading|url=https://www.bbc.co.uk/news/articles/c8jm9wj10m3o|access-date=10 March 2026|website=BBC News|language=en-GB}}</ref>

== References == {{Reflist|33em}}

== Bibliography == * ''Dr Martin Lister: A bibliography'' by Geoffrey Keynes. St Paul's Bibliographies (UK). {{ISBN|0-906795-04-4}}. (Includes illustrations by Lister's wife and daughter). * ''The Travelling Naturalists'' (1985) by Clare Lloyd. (Study of 18th Century Natural History — includes Charles Waterton, John Hanning Speke, Henry Seebohm and Mary Kingsley). Contains colour and black and white reproductions. Croom Helm (UK). {{ISBN|0-7099-1658-2}}. * ''Dry storeroom no 1: The Secret Life of the Natural History Museum'' (2009) by Richard Fortey. HarperPress (UK). {{ISBN|978-0307275523}}. * ''Nature's Cathedral: A celebration of the Natural History Museum building'' (2020) by John Thackray, Bob Press and Sandra Knapp. Natural History Museum. {{ISBN|978 0 565 09483 6}}

== External links == {{Wikidata property|P3060}} {{Commons and category}} * {{Official website}} * [https://web.archive.org/web/20140424180521/http://piclib.nhm.ac.uk/ Picture Library of the Natural History Museum] * [https://artsandculture.google.com/partner/natural-history-museum The Natural History Museum on Google Cultural Institute] * [http://www.british-history.ac.uk/report.asp?compid=47527 Architectural history and description] from the ''Survey of London'' * [https://web.archive.org/web/20120119022407/http://www.architecture.com/LibraryDrawingsAndPhotographs/Albertopolis/TheStoryOf/NaturalHistoryMuseum/NaturalHistoryMuseum.aspx Architecture and history of the NHM] from the Royal Institute of British Architects * Maps of {{gbmapping|TQ267792}} * [http://www.nature.com/news/2010/100611/full/news.2010.294.html Nature News article on proposed cuts, June 2010] * [https://www.nhm.ac.uk/ The Natural History Museum – official website] * [https://www.nhm.ac.uk/about-us/history-and-architecture.html History and architecture of the Museum] * [https://www.nhm.ac.uk/business-services/touring-exhibitions/history-of-life-through-fossils.html Exhibition: "A History of Life Through Fossils"]

Category:Natural History Museum, London Category:1881 establishments in England Category:Alfred Waterhouse buildings Category:British Museum Natural History Museum, London Category:Charities based in London Category:Buildings and structures completed in 1880 Category:Dinosaur museums in the United Kingdom Category:Exempt charities Category:Grade I listed buildings in the Royal Borough of Kensington and Chelsea Category:Grade I listed museum buildings Category:Museums established in 1881 Category:Museums in the Royal Borough of Kensington and Chelsea Category:Museums sponsored by the Department for Culture, Media and Sport Category:National museums of England Category:Natural history museums in London Category:NDPB galleries, libraries and museums in the United Kingdom Category:Romanesque Revival architecture in England Category:South Kensington Category:Terracotta