The Natural History Museum first opened its doors to the public on Easter Monday in 1881. The Museum is home to the largest and most important natural history collection in the world, with over 70 million specimens ranging from microscopic slides to mammoth skeletons.
Dinosaurs, volcanoes, precious gems and creepy crawlies – as a visitor to the Natural History Museum you will be amazed by the diversity of the natural world. The Museum is not only home to the nation’s finest collection of natural history specimens, but is also one of the UK’s top attractions, with nearly four million visitors each year.
The Robot suggests:
- The dinosaurs (but be careful not to take one home as a pet!)
- The Blue Whale
- The earthquake shop
- Travel through a giant suspended globe
- The Vault, and its dazzling collection of the finest gems, crystals and metals from around the world, including the Aurora Pyramid of Hope, a collection of 296 naturally coloured diamonds
From September 2009, visitors and scientists will share the excitement of exploring, studying and preserving the world around us in the second phase of the Darwin Centre.
This eight-storey, £78 million landmark building project completes the Darwin Centre – the most significant development at the Museum since it was built in 1881. The first phase, housing the Museum’s 22 million zoological specimens stored in alcohol, opened in September 2002. The new Darwin Centre is a state-of-the-art scientific research and collections facility that will be used by over 200 scientists at a time. It is also an awe-inspiring new public space, inviting visitors to explore the natural world in an exciting and innovative way. The architectural highlight is a 65-metre-long, eight-storey cocoon – the largest sprayed concrete curved structure in Europe. It will safeguard 17 million insect and three million plant specimens. Visitors will journey into and around the cocoon to see how Museum scientists work, with a chance to see into the collections and laboratories.
South Kensington (District, Circle and Piccadilly lines; 5 minutes walk)
Routes 14, 49, 70, 74, 345, 360, 414 and C1 stop near by
Daily 10:00 – 17:50
Entry is free
Natural History Museum, Cromwell Road, London SW7 5BD (Map)
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