Top 10 2009 Museum stories

15 January 2010

From London's first ice sculpting festival, a tropical bird theft and dog specimens getting a clean, to butterflies released for an exhibition and Prince William opening the new Darwin Centre, here are the top 10 favourite stories about events at the Natural History Museum in 2009.

The Ice Sculpting Festival is held in the Museum's grounds and is a 3-day-long competition

1. London's first Ice Sculpting Festival at Museum, Jan 09

The most read story about the Museum from 2009 was the hosting of London's first Ice Sculpting Festival. The 3-day event was held at the Museum's Ice Rink and included free ice sculpting master classes.

2. Donated Ida fossil cast to go on display, May 09

The 2nd most popular 2009 story was about a donated cast of the 47-million-year-old lemur-like fossil, Ida, that went on display in the Museum gallery. The announcement of the research on the ancient primate caused a media sensation.

3. Prince to open Museum's new Darwin Centre, Sept 09

Third place goes to a collection of stories about His Royal Highness Prince William of Wales and the opening of the Museum's new Darwin Centre.

Ida fossil cast on display at the Museum

Prince William was guest of honour at the opening of the building, a state-of-the-art scientific research and collection facility that includes the exciting new visitor space of the 8-storey concrete cocoon.

4. Tropical bird theft at Natural History Museum, Aug 09

People read the sad story of the theft of scientifically important tropical bird specimens from the Natural History Museum at Tring in this 4th most popular Museum story.

5. Dogs return to gallery in Museum at Tring, Feb 09

A happier story for the Museum at Tring was the return of the largest museum collection of dogs into their revamped gallery. Hundreds of dog and other animal specimens got a clean for the gallery's re-opening in February.

6. First butterflies released for exhibition, Apr 09

Butterflies emerge from their pupa, or chrysalis

The number 6 story was about the release of the first live tropical butterflies in preparation for the Museum's Butterfly Jungle exhibition last summer.

7. Treasures of the Natural History Museum book, Jan 09

The 7th story was about the more than 200 treasured Museum objects highlighted in a stunning new book.

8. Spend a night at the Museum, May 09

As part of the European-wide Museums at Night, visitors to the Natural History Museum at Tring explored galleries late into the evening in this one-night-only event.

9. Sneak preview of best wildlife photos, Aug 09

Two of the first images from the world’s most prestigious wildlife photography competition, 2009 Veolia Environnement Wildlife Photographer of the Year, were revealed in this article.