Museum of Life
Presenters of the BBC documentary, Museum of Life, from left to right: Kate Bellingham, Chris Van Tulleken, Jimmy Doherty, Mark Carwardine and Liz Bonnin
What happens behind the scenes at the Museum? Why is it important to preserve the 70 million specimens in the collections? And how relevant is the research of Museum scientists to today’s challenges, like biodiversity loss and the spread of tropical disease?
The BBC documentary, Museum of Life, will answer these questions, and many more.
Do you have any questions?
Do you have any questions about what you have seen? Want to know more about the Museum's science? If so, post a question in our Museum of Life discussion forum.
We would love to hear your views about the documentary. Did you enjoy Museum of Life? What was your favourite thing from the series? Let us know.
Previously on Museum of Life
Episode 1 - Museum in a Modern World
Jimmy Doherty gets to grips with Darwin's finches and Dippy the Diplodocus. Find out more about the specimens, scientists and research shown in episode 1.
More informationWe caught up with presenter Kate Bellingham and asked her some questions about the series.
Read the discussion with Kate BellinghamEpisode 2 - Digging up the Past
Was T. rex a scavenger or a predator? Are new dinosaur species still being discovered? And what can we learn from a human skull that is over 100,000 years old?
BBC Museum of Life documentary - episode 2
Episode 3 - All Creatures Great and Small
Follow the cameras around the Victorian Natural History Museum at Tring, find out what Museum scientists are doing to tackle a disease that affects 200 million people worldwide, and hear the stories behind some of the stunning photos in the Wildlife Photographer of the Year competition.
Join Jimmy Doherty in episode 3 of Museum of Life to find out more.
BBC Museum of Life document - episode 3
Episode 4 - Discovery
Find out about the effects of climate change and invasive species on our wildlife, marvel at the 8.62m long giant squid, and discover who brought chocolate to the UK - and much more.
Join Jimmy Doherty tonight on BBC Two.
BBC documentary Museum of Life - episode 4
Episode 5 - The Power of Insects
Should you be worried about the false widow spider spreading across the south of England? How can insects help investigators solve murder mysteries? And if you find an insect you don't recognise, how can you get it identified?
Find out with Jimmy Doherty this Thursday.
BBC Museum of Life documentary - episode 5
Episode 6 - A Collection for the Future
Could meteorites hold the key to the origins of life on Earth? How can you look inside a shark specimen without damaging it? And what cutting-edge techniques are scientists developing to find out more from the Museum's collections in future?
Jimmy Doherty asks these questions, and more, in the final episode of Museum of Life.
Competition winner
We asked you to answer 6 questions about areas of Museum research and collections shown in the documentary.
The competition has now closed and the winner was John Whale.
John receives a year's Museum Membership and a visit to the collections store.
Congratulations!
Thanks to those who followed the competition on the NHM_MOL Twitter stream. You can continue to find out more about the Museum by following us on NHM_London on Twitter.
Watching Museum of Life
The series was shown on BBC Two at 8pm for 6 weeks, from Thursday 18 March, but if you missed it there is information about the Museum's research and collections, as shown in the documentary, on these pages.
You can also find more information on the BBC website.
About the series
Museum of Life gives viewers an inside look at the Natural History Museum and some of the 300 or more scientists who work here.
Cameras follow them on collecting expeditions around the world, as they hunt for dinosaur fossils and study the biodiversity of remote areas. But there are also plenty of discoveries to be made at the Museum itself, including hidden store rooms full of specimens, and high tech science facilities, such as the DNA labs.
About the presenters
As a young man, Jimmy Doherty worked as a volunteer at the Natural History Museum in South Kensington. Now he returns to join the Museum scientists and find out how much has changed.
He is joined by engineer Kate Bellingham, doctor of tropical medicine Chris van Tulleken, conservationist Liz Bonnin and zoologist Mark Carwardine.
Support the Museum
The Natural History Museum is a leading scientific research institution, a major cultural attraction and recorder of life on Earth. For over 130 years, we have pushed the boundaries of what a museum can be. Please donate now to secure the Museum for future generations.
Make a donation to the Museum
Continue your journey behind the scenes, and find out more about our research and collections in the Museum of Life book.
How did our collections begin? Why is Archaeopteryx one of our most precious fossil specimens? Find out the answers to these questions, and many more, in the new Museum of Life book.
See the specimens
You can see many of the rare and beautiful specimens featured in the BBC documentary on display in the Museum's galleries.
Map of the specimens shown in the series