Nature on film

More than 300 scientists work at the Natural History Museum carrying out vital research into the natural world. Take a look at some of their work in the videos below. Find out what Neanderthals ate, whether finches or mockingbirds had the biggest impact on Darwin's ideas about evolution, and about new insights into the practices of ice age Britons.

New videos on the site

Discover some of the research that Museum scientists are doing in Antarctica.

Extreme survival of cyanobacteria

Join Museum scientist Anne Jungblut to investigate how cyanobacteria survive in Antarctica’s lakes and how these important organisms have helped shape life as we know it.
Marine life in Antarctica

Museum marine biologist Adrian Glover reveals the diversity of life in the Antarctic deep sea and explains why it might be changing.
Enjoy a winter woodland walk

Join Museum botanist Fred Rumsey for a guide to some of the delights of a winter woodland walk.
Baryonyx - discovery of an unusual dinosaur

The discovery of Baryonyx began a whole area of research on specialised fish-eating dinosaurs called spinosaurs. Watch the video to find out more about Baryonx and its significance.
World’s heaviest spider title challenged at Museum

When the Hercules baboon spider took on the Goliath bird-eating spider for a heavy-weight title challenge, which emerged the champion?
Freshwater ponds

Explore some of the aquatic life thriving in the Wildlife Garden and discover what you might find in your own garden pond.
Cockchafer or May bug

Join Stuart Hine, Manager of the Museum’s Identification and Advisory Service, as he introduces the cockchafer beetle, Melolontha melolontha, and gives tips on how to identify them.
Earliest human skull-cups made in the UK

Museum palaeoanthropologists Chris Stringer and Silvia Bello reveal what 14,700-year-old human skulls excavated from Gough’s Cave in Somerset can tell us about the practices of ice age Britons.
Restoring the Mauritian ecosystem

Habitat destruction almost certainly caused the extinction of the dodo and the giant tortoises. Could the ecosystem be restored by bringing similar species back?
Reconstructing the dodo

What did the dodo really look like? The first reconstruction, made 200 years after the bird's extinction, cemented its public image. But was it right?
Nature in demand

The John Reeves collection is one of the Museum’s most important artwork collections. Botanist Sandy Knapp discusses the role it played in documenting the natural world in the early 19th century.
Hammerhead shark helps investigate sense of smell

Watch a fly through of a hammerhead shark’s nostril and discover how scientists used the Museum’s CT scanner to investigate the shark’s amazing sense of smell.
Identify trees

Help scientists learn about the distribution of trees in streets, parks and gardens across the UK. Watch the video for tips on how to identify trees, to learn more about the urban tree survey and to find out how to take part.
HMS Challenger expedition

Find out about the voyage of HMS Challenger, which started the science of oceanography and proved that life existed on the deep sea bed.
Angela Marmont Centre for UK Biodiversity

Explore the Museum's new Centre for UK Biodiversity, where you can learn more about British natural history and get help identifying native species. Watch the video.
Exploring British Wildlife: Bluebells

Do you have native or Spanish bluebells growing in your local area? How do you tell the difference? And are bluebells flowering earlier because of climate change? Watch the video to find out.
Cherry tree survey

Watch this video for inside tips from Museum botanist Bob Press on how to identify different kinds of cherry tree, then join in our survey.
Lichens and air pollution

Watch the video to find out what the golden shield lichen, and others, can tell us about the air quality in our local areas.
Deforestation

Why do forests help to reduce global warming and how can we preserve them? Pavan Sukhdev, who worked with the United Nations Environment Programme, explains in the video.
Fate of coral reefs

Watch the video to find out why carbon dioxide emission levels need to be limited if we are to avoid the extinction of tropical coral reefs.
Why conserve biodiversity?

Biodiversity is a fundamental part of the Earth's life support system, without it we would not be able to survive.
What is Ida's significance?

Ida is the most complete fossil primate ever discovered. So what can we learn from her?
British earthworm survey

Find out how you can help scientists learn more about the distribution of British earthworm species and the soil they live in.
Fish knew first about sex

Fossilised pregnant fish was one of the first animals to have sex. Read more and watch a video.
Taxidermy at Tring

Derek Frampton talks about how he became a taxidermist and the secrets of his craft. Watch the video.
Darwin's mockingbirds knock finches off perch

Find out how mockingbirds from the Galapagos Islands, not finches, gave Charles Darwin his ideas about evolution. Watch the video
Big teeth for a tiny dinosaur

A tiny dinosaur with big canine teeth shows for the first time how one of the earliest dinosaurs grew into an adult. Watch the video.
Neanderthal diet like early modern human's

Evidence reveals Neanderthals ate seafood such as shellfish, mussels and even seal. Watch the video.
Somerset seaweeds

Follow Museum expert Professor Juliet Brodie as she carries out the first seaweed survey since the 1970s in Blue Anchor Bay along the Bristol Channel. Watch the video.
Mystery insect found in Museum garden

An insect not seen in the UK before was discovered in the Wildlife Garden in 2008 and it baffled insect experts. Watch the video.
World's longest insect revealed

The record for the world's longest insect has been broken by a 56.7 cm long stick-insect from Borneo which has joined the Natural History Museum's collections. Watch the video.
The making of TREE (video)

Follow landscape artist Tania Kovats on her journey to complete this fantastic art installation project for the Natural History Museum.