1. Natural History Museum dino (Photograph: Jess Hand for Time Out)
    Photograph: Jess Hand for Time Out
  2. Natural History Museum dino (Photograph: Jess Hand for Time Out)
    Photograph: Jess Hand for Time Out
  3. Natural History Museum (Photograph: Jess Hand for Time Out)
    Photograph: Jess Hand for Time Out
  4. Natural History Museum (Photograph: Jess Hand for Time Out)
    Photograph: Jess Hand for Time Out
  5. Natural History Museum exter (Photograph: Jess Hand for Time Out)
    Photograph: Jess Hand for Time Out
  • Museums | Natural history
  • South Kensington
  • Recommended

Natural History Museum

Alex Sims
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Time Out says

What is it? 

Both a research institution and a fabulous museum, The Natural History Museum opened in Alfred Waterhouse’s purpose-built Romanesque cathedral of nature on the Cromwell Road in 1881. Joined by the splendid Darwin Centre extension in 2009, the original building still looks magnificent, and the pale blue and terracotta façade just about prepares you for the natural wonders within.

Since 2017, a huge diving Blue Whale skeleton named Hope, has hung in the Hintze Hall. (She replaced London’s most beloved dinosaur, Dippy the Diplodocus, who reigned in the Hall since 1905). A new Diplodocus skeleton Fern, can now be found outside in the Museum garden. 

The museum is divided into four different coloured zones. The Blue Zone contains eccentric animatronic dinosaurs, including the endlessly popular T rex, and models of some of the biggest mammals on the planet. The Red Zone is full of prehistoric fossils, volcanic simulations and artefacts explaining human evolution. The Green Zone is where you’ll see the ‘Creepy Crawlies’ gallery and the fascinating bird specimens. The Orange Zone is full of zoological curios suspended in alcohol and the Darwin Centre where many of the museum’s 80 million specimens are housed, taking up nearly 17 miles of shelving. With its eight-storey Cocoon, this is also home to the museum’s research scientists.

The museum has just announced a huge refurbishment project that will restore and reopen Victorian galleries which have been closed to the public for decades, all in time for its 150th anniversary in 2031. This includes The Herbarium which has been closed since the 1940s and will reopen as a reading room. 

Each year the museum features fresh new temporary exhibitions, as well as some regular favourites, like Wildlife Photographer of the Year and their tropical butterfly house.  

Why go? 

To see colourful exhibits and hard-to-believe-they’re-real artefacts mapping out 4.6 billion years of the planet’s history, as well as cutting-edge scientific research. 

Don’t miss: 

The Museum’s gardens have just reopened after a huge transformation project. The new five-acre expanse of greenery now features a canyon crafted out of ancient stone, biodiverse habitats full of frogs and newts and a bronze cast of Dippy the Diplodocus. 

When to visit: 

Daily 10am-5.50pm (last admission 5.30pm). Peak times are at weekday afternoons and weekends. 

Ticket info: 

Free entry, some exhibitions are ticketed. 

Time Out tip: 

I love heading up to the Hintze Hall balconies. Peeping through the stone arches on these floors gives you a beautiful view of the whole Hall so you can really take in all its splendour, as well as getting fabulous videos of Hope the Blue Whale’s suspended skeleton.

See more of London's best museums and our guide to the very best things to do in London

Details

Address
Cromwell Road
London
SW7 5BD
Transport:
Tube: South Kensington
Price:
Free (permanent collection); admission charge applies for some temporary exhibitions
Opening hours:
Daily 10am-5.50pm (last admission 5.30pm)
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What’s on

Birds: Brilliant & Bizarre

4 out of 5 stars
While its permanent collections are showing their age now – that age being approximately 163 years – the Natural History Museum’s temporary exhibits are a world apart. Modern, witty, spacious and hi-tech: they’re a window into what might be if the NHM was refounded in the twenty-first century. ‘Birds: Brilliant & Bizarre’ doesn’t have an especially incisive story to tell beyond ‘birds are great!’ (It would be weird if it was ‘birds are terrible!’) but it is is, nonetheless, a beautifully put together journey through the story of our avian pals that mixes slick techy stuff with a thoughtful delve into the museum’s vast taxidermy vaults (if your archive includes an entire family of stuffed hummingbirds – including the nesting babies – you might as well give it a public airing occasionally). One great thing for younger audiences is that our feathered friends are an offshoot of dinosaurs - hence licence for the first quarter or so of ‘Birds’ to concern itself with their prehistoric ancestors, with particular attention paid to dino-bird crossover creature archaeopteryx. After that it’s an entertaining grab bag, a nicely laid out mix of… bird stuff, with a striking early piece being the gigantic stuffed albatross suspended from the ceiling with its gigantic fluffy chick under it. We’re told the mother was killed by a fishing trawler, which sets up the eco undertones of the rest of the exhibit. It’s not just about wacky bird facts, but the sense that these creatures’ lives are in ou
  • Exhibitions

Wildlife Photographer of the Year

This renowned annual photography exhibition returns to the Natural History Museum for its sixtieth edition, showcasing the very best entries of the Wildlife Photographer of the Year competition. On display are images of the most extraordinary species on the planet captured by professional and amateur photographers. This year’s entries are TBA right now, but the winners are reliably spectacular – pictured is last year’s champion Max Waugh’s triumphant ‘Snow Bison’. Don’t miss what is always a highlight in the NHM’s calendar.

Storytime with Father Christmas

Forgot peering up into the Christmas Eve sky for a glimpse of Santa – he’s taking up residency at the Natural History Museum in December, before his busy period really takes off. Head down to South Kensington to intro the kids to Father Christmas in his grotto, which will be decorated with snowy trees and comfy cushions perfect for chilling on while the big man tells everyone a festive tale. Each session lasts 45 minutes and, after, there’s the chance for the little ones to receive a present and take a photo with Mr Claus himself. Ho ho ho!
  • Performances
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