LONDON WEEKEND BREAKS - The Natural History Museum

The Natural History Museum is the most visited of the London museums and it is open seven days a week. It displays tens of thousands of exhibits in each of its numerous categories with the emphasis being on nature, both past and present. The museum is hugely popular with visitors of all ages and it makes a great family day out (or half day out).

The museums history and what you can see

First opened in 1881, the Natural History Museum was originally a part of the British museum, but over the years it developed a speciality in the areas of animals and plants and an appreciation of its work increased.

As this speciality became larger and more prominent, it was decided that the numerous displays deserved individual recognition and that a dedicated building should be used to display them. Even so, the Natural History Museum was not regarded as a truly independent museum until the early nineteen sixties.

Today the museum displays its exhibits by species and genus and visitors can explore a vast array of diverse and interesting items that range from pieces of a meteor to 60 million year old fossils.

The display areas are split into three primary sections that are, the Life Galleries and the Central Hall, the state of the art Darwin Centre and the Earth Galleries Atrium. For many, it is the dinosaurs that steel the show, but some of the smaller attractions are every bit as interesting and compelling.

One of three museums

Housed in an imposing and monumental stone structure (i.e. the Waterhouse building), the Natural History Museum is one of three museums that are easily visited in a single outing.

Both the Science Museum and Albert and Victoria Museum are within a short walk of the Natural History Museum making it easy to spend a day jumping between these three locations. Although a museum day may sound challenging, or even boring, all three of these exhibition centres are entertaining and there are even some interactive elements.

3 Natural History Museum facts

The Natural History Museum has an incredible 70 million species in its many and varied displays and the scale of theses displays range from insects to whales.

The Natural History Museum holds over 3,000 meteorites and 9,000,000 fossils of animals and plant life (and yes, the six zeros are correct.)

Visitors to the Natural History Museum are greeted in the Museum’s Central Hall by one of its biggest exhibits, a 26 metre long fossilised Diplodocus skeleton.

Location and admission

The Natural History Museum is open 7 days per week and admission is free. It is located at the junction of Cromwell Road and Exhibition Road. The nearest tube station to the museum is South Kensington. The Science Museum and Albert and Victoria Museum are only a short walk away.

The Natural History Museum has some shops, cafes, restaurants and sandwich bars.