Annual Review 2021-22

In 2021-2022, the Natural History Museum was the most visited museum or gallery in the UK...

welcoming 2,381,681 visitors to the Museum at South Kensington and...

87,321 visitors to the Museum at Tring, despite over six weeks of closure.

87,321 people visited the Museum at Tring.

A staff member welcoming visitors to the Museum.

Our exhibitions

Fantastic Beasts™: The Wonder of Nature, developed in partnership with the BBC and Warner Bros., was seen by more than 135,000 visitors and was shortlisted for Partnership of the Year in the 2022 Museum & Heritage Awards.

Wildlife Photographer of the Year 57 was seen by more than 87,000 visitors - and counting.

Our Broken Planet: How We Got Here and Ways to Fix It was shortlisted for Temporary or Touring Exhibition of the Year in the 2022 Museum & Heritage Awards and has already been seen by more than 600,000 visitors.

two people film someone working on a specimen for a museum gallery
A woman wearing a mask looks at a marlin skeleton

The popular events programme of the critically acclaimed exhibition.

Over three days, we delivered more than 50 pieces of programming featuring 75 guest participants and reaching 11.8 million people online.

Despite the pandemic, the Museum's touring exhibitions had a successful year, with multiple presentations across the world.

Our science, data and discoveries

Four people take a selfie and are smiling
A woman scrubs a rock in a muddy puddle

In 2021-2022 the Museum described 552 new species, unlocked evolutionary secrets through advanced DNA and imaging techniques, and influenced policy through scientific data and tools such as the Biodiversity Intactness Index.

In January 2022 we reached the landmark of having digitised five million specimens from the collection. This means more than six percent of the 80 million specimens are now available on our Data Portal.

Our people

three women look through a microscope in a laboratory

Our relationships with Members, Patrons, Corporate Supporters, individuals and funders who share our ambitions and purpose have continued to make a signifcant impact this year, creating ambassadors for the work of the Museum and thousands of advocates for the planet.

We have been working hard to become a more equal, diverse and inclusive organisation.

Working towards a sustainable future

Two people assembling a foot of dippy the dinosaur

My Body: My Planet and Doing Science with Colombia.

Becoming a leader in sustainable heritage retail.

Greta Thunberg looks through a microscope at a tiny beetle names after her