The National History Museum has attracted thousands of visitors from across the globe and has never disappointed. The regal and monumental architecture of the building definitely casts a great first impression. This museum also boasts about 300 working scientists and some of 19th Century Britain’s most sought-after historic specimens acquired by scientists in the likes of Charles Darwin. The museum has 70 million specimens in total, with some being extinct creatures. 46% of all visitors are part of a family group which means the National History Museum has more family groups than any other museum located in the UK.
Notable Features of the National History Museum:
- The Dinosaur Gallery which is known to be a great place to take your kids so they can marvel at sights that used to be. Fossils and realistic display pieces definitely leave many with their mouth hanging open.
- Paddington which was released in 2014 has an iconic scene that was shot in the museum.
- A recent addition to the museum’s cathedral-like entrance has been the skeleton figure of a blue whale which greets the public by taking the limelight in the Hintze Hall.
- The museum also recently worked with Google to bring to life an extinct creature known as the Rhomaleosaurus with the help of virtual reality.
- Treasures Exhibition which is located in the Cadogan Gallery has a variety of different objects that all tell a different story. All the objects are completely different from each other and can be anything from Charles Darwin’s pigeons to the most expensive book in the world. This exhibition features 22 exhibits including the only piece of moon rock in the UK.
- The Human Evolution Gallery hosts two scientific reconstructions of Neanderthals that give visitors a glimpse at an early example of their own species.
Insider Details
The museum lets in visitors from 10 am onwards up until 5:30 pm and can easily be reached via a short walk from the South Kensington Tube station. The museum is a huge tourist attraction with people who live around the corner coming in as well, so the line to get in can reach the next block. Coming in early will help save you a lot of time and you will be able to take more in. Admission is free apart from a few temporary exhibitions that have a cost attached. There are three entrances you can choose from: Cromwell Road, Exhibition Road and Queen’s Gate which is only open during extremely busy times.
