Natural History Museum
London · United Kingdom · Founded 1881
A cathedral of nature in South Kensington, holding 80 million specimens from across the natural world.
About Natural History Museum
Alfred Waterhouse's Romanesque-revival building opened in 1881 to display the natural-history collections that had outgrown the British Museum. The terracotta facade is decorated with sculptures of living and extinct species.
Inside, the Hintze Hall is anchored by Hope, a 25-metre blue whale skeleton, and the museum continues to lead global research in taxonomy, evolution, and conservation.
Collections & Highlights
Frequently Asked Questions
A small ask before you go
You've just explored one of humanity's greatest collections of beauty. Art has the power to move us, inspire us, and change how we see the world. But millions of people will never see beauty like this — not because the art isn't there, but because they can't see at all.
Preventable blindness, caused by conditions like cataracts and trachoma, affects people of all ages across the world's poorest communities. A small gift — for the cost of a museum ticket — can provide a simple surgery to restore someone's sight and transform their life.