Natural History Museum, 5 Star Hotels in London City near Natural History Museum, Top 20 London Visitor Attractions

Natural History Museum

Cromwell Road, London, SW7 5BD

The Natural History Museum is one of the largest natural history collections in the world. The museum also holds the skeletal remains of the River Thames Whale which famously swam into the river Thames in January 2006, which is currently on temporary public display at the museum.

It is located at South Kensington, London and home to life and earth science specimens comprising some 70 million items within five main collections: Botany, Entomology, Mineralogy, Palaeontology and Zoology. It is one of three large museums in South Kensington (the others are the Science Museum, the Victoria and Albert Museum).

Like other publicly funded national museums in the United Kingdom, the Natural History Museum does not levy an admission charge. The museum’s mission is to maintain and develop their collections, and use them to promote the discovery, understanding, responsible use and enjoyment of the natural world.

The National History Museum is a world-renowned 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 Darwin. The Natural History Museum Library contains extensive books, journals, manuscripts, and artwork collections linked to the work and research of the scientific departments.

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 which dominates the vaulted central hall.

At the National History Museum there are over 30 permanent galleries to explore. At a glance below are the Museum’s star attractions that no visitor wants to miss:

Dinosaurs
Meet a terrifying T-rex, inspect dinosaur skeletons and sort the facts from the myths about why dinosaurs died out in the famous Dinosaurs gallery.

Mammals (blue whale)
Discover a world of massive mammals. Inspect a blue whale, the largest creature ever, from above and below.

Central Hall
The Museum's grand entrance hall includes the Diplodocus skeleton, a 1,300-year-old giant sequoia tree that grew up to 26 meters, Darwin's statue and the coelacanth, a prehistoric fish still living in the Indian Ocean.

Visions of Earth
Walk along an avenue of sculptures, and examine beautiful specimens, including a piece of the moon. Then take the escalator up through the giant Earth sculpture made from iron, zinc and copper.

Images of Nature
Marvel at some of the most beautiful, historic artworks and modern images of nature held by the Museum.

The Vault
Discover the stories behind some of nature's most rare, unique and valuable treasures in the Museum's Vault gallery.

Cocoon
Get a sneak preview of the spectacular Darwin Centre Cocoon experience and the fantastic exhibits inside.

Attenborough Studio
Join in exciting events and shows in the Darwin Centre's visually stunning, high-tech studio space.

Earthquake room
Feel the earth move for yourself when you enter the earthquake machine.