Virtual Tour - Natural History Museum

Welcome in the Natural History Museum London

by Luna Stieler and Magdalena Koch

go!

This virtual reality tour is not a replacement for an actual visit to the museum. It should merely be seen as a way to get an impression of the exhibitions the museum has to offer. We hope this tour can show you the marvelous world of Natural History Museum London and can convince you to visit us in London.

Please read before proceeding

Map

orange Zone

blue Zone

Green Zone

red Zone

Earth's Treasury

Red Zone

From the Beginning

Human Evolution

Lasting Impressions

Restless Surface

Volcanoes & Earthquakes

Earth's Treasury

Discover minerals, gemstones and rocks in the Earth's Treasury gallery.A glittering display includes everything from gold nuggets to Stonehenge rock and kryptonite. Find out how diamonds are formed and cut, and examine royal links to precious stones.

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From the Beginning

This exhibition is a journey through Earth's past... from the beginning of the universe as a tiny unimaginably hot fireball to today's living planet of moving continents and seas.

Early Evolution

Life fills the Seas

Life moves onto Land

Dinosaur death

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Human Evolution

Embark on a seven-million-year journey, from the first hominins to the last surviving human species: us.

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Despite their reputation as being primitive 'cavemen', Neanderthals were actually very intelligent and accomplished humans.Neanderthals were skilled tool makers, as evidenced by excavated objects such as spears and flint handaxes.

The Neanderthal

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Last Impressions

From 200-million-year-old wave ripples on beach sand to a petrified tree stump, dinosaur footprints, and a giant ammonite, the past is imprinted on all of these gallery specimens.

Examine remarkable fossil evidence of long-ago events.

Restless Surface

See dramatic rock and mountain formations and a giant stalagmite, and find out how they formed. Discover how stones change shape and explore interactive exhibits in the Restless Surface gallery.

How has wind, water and other weather shaped the Earth? And how long has it taken?

Volcanoes and Earthquakes

Once inside there are plenty of exhibits to explore as well as film footage and the famous earthquake simulator. The size and shape of this gallery make it a great fit for drinks receptions, providing guests with fascinating specimens to view and discuss.

Earthquake simulator

A disaster nobody could imagine

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This earthquake simulator shows what it was like during the 1995 Kobe, Japan earthquake.

Creepy Crawlies

Birds

Minerals

Treasures

Waterhouse Gallery

Green Zone

Fossil Marine Reptiles

Giant Sequoia

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Birds

Creepy Crawlies

Satisfy your curiosity for insects, crabs, centipedes and spiders, and explore all things arthropod in our Creepy Crawlies gallery. Learn about locusts, scorpions, termites and thousands of their relatives.

Find out what was going on in the oceans while dinosaurs dominated the land in the Fossil Marine Reptiles gallery. See some of the most complete fossils of these prehistoric sea animals, including ichthyosaurs and plesiosaurs, and learn about the work of pioneering palaeontologist Mary Anning.

Fossil Marine Reptiles

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See sparkling gems alongside raw minerals, marvel at the variety of colours, textures and shapes, and learn how they're formed.

Step back in time to see the Museum as it was in 1881 with its original oak display cabinets in the Minerals gallery.

Minerals

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Great auk

Hans Sloane's nautilus shell

Explore 22 objects spanning 4.6 billion years of Earth's history.

Each exhibit tells a remarkable story and has been chosen for its scientific, historical and cultural importance. From a meteorite and moon rock, a dodo to Darwin's pigeons, and the intricate Blaschka glass models, uncover some of the most extraordinary specimens in our collection.

Treasures

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Waterhouse Gallery

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A slice through the trunk of a Giant Sequoia tree with an estimated age of over 1300 years. This sits at the top of the staircase, above the Diplodocus, in the Central Hall.

Giant Sequoia

Marine Invertebrates

Dinosaurs

Blue Zone

Fishes, Amphibians & Reptiles

Images of Nature

Mammals

Mammals (blue whale)

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Dinosaurs

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Palliseden bonn

Brown kiwi, Apteryx australis

Elephant-eared saxifrage, Bergenia cordifolia

Slime mould, Trichia affinis

Platypus, Ornithorhynchus anatinus

Images of Nature

You can see fossils and skeletons of extinct animals alongside specimens of their living relatives. Come face-to-face with the extinct sabre-toothed cat, see the unique duck-billed platypus, and compare the anatomy of a horse with a human.

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Mammals

Discover the biggest mammals in the animal kingdom. Look up and see our blue whale model, seemingly swimming with the other cetacean skeletons and replicas suspended from the ceiling. On the ground examine extinct mammoths and giant elk and their living relatives, as well as giraffes, hippos and horses.

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Mammals (blue whale model)

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This female blue whale beached in 1891 near Wexford, a coastal town in southeast Ireland.Since its arrival at the Museum in the 1880s, the blue whale skeleton has been part of an ever-expanding scientific collection. The whale is the largest specimen in the Museum's collection of more than 80 million objects from around the globe.This skeleton, placed in the centre of the Museum, is a symbol of hope - a public reminder that Earth's rich biodiversity may be at risk, but it is within our power to protect it.

Mammals (blue whale model)

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Fishes, amphibians and reptiles

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Marine Invertebrates

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Cocoon

Attenborough Studio

Orange Zone

Zoology spirit building

Meet our scientists and discover the fascinating work they carry out behind the scenes here at the Museum.

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This eight-story concrete chrysalis of science protects 22 million specimens of insects and 3 million samples of plant tissue. As well as providing new exhibition space and doubling the number of laboratories the museum currently has, the public will be able to watch scientists at work - perhaps sequencing DNA or cataloging new species

Cocoon

EXIT

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Zoology spirit building

The Museum has over 23 million specimens stored in alcohol in the spirit collection.

You can also visit our store!

Thanks for your visit!

Sources of Information

https://www.theguardian.com/science/2008/sep/02/nathist.cocoonhttp://www.beenthere-donethat.org.uk/london/kensington4.htmlhttps://www.nhm.ac.uk/visit/galleries-and-museum-map.htmlhttps://www.nhm.ac.uk/discover/highlights-of-the-treasures-gallery.html

Pictorial sources

[1] https://th.bing.com/th/id/OIP.pMFbdUY6ZTPaVMn0wp2fLQHaEK?w=321&h=181&c=7&r=0&o=5&dpr=1.5&pid=1.7[2] https://precisionlighting.co.uk/projects/item/natural-history-museum-human-evolution[3] https://www.nhm.ac.uk/discover/how-we-became-human.html[4] https://www.nhm.ac.uk/visit/galleries-and-museum-map/human-evolution.html[5] https://zurnal.pravda.sk/reportaz/clanok/622897-moderna-cesta-do-praveku/[6] https://www.typicalben.com/2016/03/lee-kong-chian-natural-history-museum.html[7] https://www.francebleu.fr/infos/sante-sciences/photos-le-nouveau-museum-de-l-ardeche-devoile-sa-collection-de-fossiles-1461155570[8] https://natscicuratorialtrainee.wordpress.com/2015/05/09/natural-history-museum-part-1/[9] https://www.inexhibit.com/case-studies/the-darwin-centre-phase-ii-london/[10] https://natscicuratorialtrainee.wordpress.com/2015/05/09/natural-history-museum-part-1/[11] https://www.thehublimited.co.uk/projects/david-attenborough-studio-at-the-natural-history-museum/[12] https://www.nhm.ac.uk/visit/galleries-and-museum-map/birds.html[13] http://www.beenthere-donethat.org.uk/london/kensington4.html[14] https://www.nhm.ac.uk/discover/highlights-of-the-treasures-gallery.html[15] https://www.nhm.ac.uk/discover/highlights-of-the-treasures-gallery.html[16]https://commons.wikimedia.org/wiki/File:Mineral_Hall_in_Natural_History_Museum,_London,_United_Kingdom.JPG[17] http://www.beenthere-donethat.org.uk/london/kensington4.html[18] https://commons.wikimedia.org/wiki/File:Various_minerals,_Natural_History_Museum,_London_-_DSCF0427.JPG

Pictorial sources

[19] https://www.nhm.ac.uk/content/dam/nhmwww/visit/Galleriesandfloorplans/images-of-nature-gallery-hero.jpg.thumb.1920.1920.jpg[20] https://www.nhm.ac.uk/content/dam/nhmwww/our-science/dpts-facilities-staff/libraryandarchives/women-art-angela-gladwell-kiwi-two-column.jpg[21] https://www.nhm.ac.uk/content/dam/nhmwww/our-science/dpts-facilities-staff/libraryandarchives/Merian-illustration-full-width.jpg.thumb.1160.1160.jpg[22] https://www.nhm.ac.uk/content/dam/nhmwww/our-science/dpts-facilities-staff/libraryandarchives/norma-gregory-saxifrage-two-column.jpg[23] https://www.nhm.ac.uk/content/dam/nhmwww/discover/bauer-brothers/ferdinand-bauer-platypus-painting-hero.jpg.thumb.1160.1160.jpg[24]Map of Wexford, 1883 © Denis Murphy via Wikimedia Commons[25]https://www.designboom.com/wp-content/uploads/2017/07/blue-whale-skeleton-natural-history-museum-london-hintze-hall-casson-mann-designboom-1800.jpg[26] - [28] https://commons.wikimedia.org/wiki/Natural_History_Museum,_London,_Mammals_Gallery

Earth's Treasury

Earthly Displays

The earthly and yet ethereal, displays of specimens on show at the Earth’s Treasury include rare gemstones, luminescent minerals, and an array of precious metals.

Glittering Displays

These glittering displays contain gold nuggets, rocks from Stonehenge and krypton. This spectacular and impressive display will make the perfect backdrop marvel at the range of materials on show.