London Sights
- Overview
- Itineraries
- Places to Explore
- Sights
- Restaurants
- Hotels
- Entertainment
- Shopping
- Travel Tips
- Features
- Fodor's Choice
- Deals
- Guidebooks
Guidebooks
Natural History Museum
Natural History Museum Review
The ornate terracotta facade of this enormous Victorian museum is strewn with relief panels depicting living creatures to the left of the entrance and extinct ones to the right (although some species have subsequently changed categories). It's an appropriate design, for within these walls lie more than 70 million different specimens.
Only a small percentage is on public display, but you could still spend a day here and not come close to seeing everything. The museum is full of cutting-edge exhibits, with all the wow-power and interactives necessary to secure interest from younger visitors.
Highlights
A giant diplodocus skeleton dominates the vaulted, cathedral-like entrance hall, affording you perhaps the most irresistible photo opportunity in the building. It's just a cast, but the Dinosaur Gallery (Gallery 21) contains plenty of real-life dino bones, fossils—and some extremely long teeth.
You'll also come face to face with a giant animatronic Tyrannosaurus rex—who is programmed to sense when human prey is near and "respond" in character. When he does, you can hear the shrieks of fear and delight all the way across the room.
A dizzyingly tall escalator takes you into a giant globe in the Earth Galleries, where there's a choice of levels—and Earth surfaces—to explore. Don't leave without checking out the earthquake simulation in Gallery 61.
The centerpiece of a major expansion is the Darwin Centre, which houses some of the (literally) millions of items they don't have room to display, including "Archie," a 28.3-foot giant squid.
Tips
"Nature Live" is a program of free, informal talks given by scientists, covering a wildly eclectic range of subjects, usually at 2:30 (and on some days at 12:30) in the David Attenborough Studio in the Darwin Centre. The museum has an outdoor ice-skating rink from November to January, and a popular Christmas fair. Free, daily behind-the-scenes Spirit collection tours of the museum can be booked on the day—although space is limited, so come early. Recommended for children over eight years old. Got kids under seven with you? Check out the museum's free "Explorer Backpacks." They contain a range of activity materials to keep the little ones amused, including a pair of binoculars and an explorer's hat.
- Address: Cromwell Rd., South Kensington, London, SW7 5BD | Map It
- Phone: 0207/942--5000
- Cost: Free (some fees for special exhibitions)
- Hours: Daily 10-5:50, last admission at 5:30
- Website: www.nhm.ac.uk
- Tube: South Kensington.
- Location: Kensington, Chelsea, and Knightsbridge
Contact Information
Travel Deals in London
- Europe & Iceland from Seattle (R/T, incl. Tax) Icelandair
- England Experience IExplore
- 5-Night Mediterranean Cruise w/Free Hotel Stay Priceline.com
- Europe & Iceland from NYC (R/T, incl. Tax) — $595-$915 Icelandair
· Forums Trip Reports
-
If you are looking for a place to quench your thirst and experience a true local Irish pub while in Belfast then a visit to The Glory Hole Bar may be a treat for you.
Located in Belfast's Cathedral Quarter, Read more -
The howling wind makes for great scenery and white capped crashing waves as I begin my early morning drive from Port Stuart to Belfast along The Coastal Causeway Route.
With stops at Dunluce Castle, The Read more
·United Kingdom Forum
-
I will have a 10 hr layover, passing through London on my way home from Nairobi to California...Can I leave the airport? (I will have checked all my bags through to San Diego) My credit card travel service Read more
· Travel Blog
-
Practical Travel Tips
With London revving up to host the 2012 Olympic Games, following closely on the heels of the Queen's Diamond Read more
-
Travel Tip of the Day
Find out how to get the best deals on diamonds in London... Read more
-
Practical Travel Tips
London is one of our top 21 places to go in 2012—and with the opening of the Belgraves London earlie Read more