Collections
Of the Museum's 80 million objects, only a tiny fraction ever go on display.
Uncover colourful stories behind the specimens, meet collectors and curators past and present and read about their contributions to our understanding of the natural world.

Endeavour illustrations
Explore original botanical drawings and engravings prepared by Sydney Parkinson aboard the Endeavour, as well as those completed after his death by artists back in England.

MacGillivray art collection
Browse watercolours of mammals, birds and fish by William MacGillivray (1796-1852), which are housed at the Museum.
All stories
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Science news
'Ghost' fossils reveal how oceans could be affected by climate change
Plankton which help feed the ocean, lock away carbon dioxide and even influence the weather may not be as vulnerable to climate change as feared.
19 May 2022 -
Science news
Museum bats digitised to combat future pandemics
Understanding how bats, which are one of nature's largest disease reservoirs, have changed over time can help scientists to identify new disease hotspots.
7 April 2022 -
Science news
Birds are officially more colourful closer to the equator
The tropics have long been perceived as being a riot of colour.
4 April 2022 -
Collections
13 inspiring stories from the Women in Science tour
The Museum's new, free Women in Science tour tell some inspiring stories of women in science.
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Tring
Taxidermy at Tring: how Walter Rothschild procured specimens for the Museum
Walter Rothschild acquired animals from all over the world to study and display at his museum.
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Collections
John James Audubon: creator of The Birds of America book
John James Audubon was a self-taught ornithologist and artist.
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Science news
Museum digitises five millionth specimen to unlock secrets of collection
The digitisation of these collections could be worth £2 billion pounds to the global economy.
18 January 2022 -
News
Shackleton's final expedition: Reuniting Quest's collection 100 years later
A century ago, the era of 'heroic' Antarctic endeavours came to an end as the Quest expedition made its way home.
5 January 2022 -
Science news
Colombia's twice-forgotten yellow butterfly offers hope for tropical wildlife
Elusive yellow butterfly from isolated Colombian mountain rediscovered twice.
15 December 2021 -
Science news
New soft tissue analyses show how ammonites lived in Jurassic oceans
New 3D scans of soft tissue show how ammonites functioned.
7 December 2021 -
News
Dippy returning to Museum after UK tour
Dippy the Diplodocus is coming home to the Museum after a tour that saw them meet over two million new friends around the UK.
28 October 2021 -
News
Digitising the entire Museum collection could contribute over £2 billion to the global economy
The economic benefit of digitising an entire museum collection has been quantified for the first time.
26 October 2021 -
News
Extreme weather from climate change could overwhelm bird eggs
Climate change could leave birds and their eggs unprepared for the extreme weather being thrown at them.
20 October 2021 -
News
Rare 93 carat natural black diamond goes on display in The Vault
A large, rare natural black diamond has gone on display at the Museum.
8 October 2021 -
Anthropocene
Snarge: the gruesome result of our holiday flights and why it's important to study it
As you're taxiing to the runway, spare a thought for what the impact of your flight might be.
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News
High-resolution 3D scanning will help scientists understand insect evolution
Understanding the extraordinary diversity and differences between insects can help us figure out how these species evolved.
1 July 2021 -
Collections
Caring for specimens at the Museum
Take a behind-the-scenes look at the conservation work undertaken for the Fantastic Beasts™: The Wonder of Nature exhibition.
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Collections
Eleven elusive creatures of the natural world
Many animals are very difficult to spot in the wild. Get up close to some of nature's most elusive creatures at the Museum.
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British wildlife
Environmental DNA: what is it and how can it help us protect wildlife?
Find out what eDNA is and how it can be used for conservation.
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News
Winchcombe meteorite to go on display at the Museum
It is the first meteorite fall to have been recovered in the UK for 30 years.
14 May 2021 -
Anthropocene
How natural history museums can help fight future pandemics
Data on three bat families will be released on an open platform and made available to researchers all over the world.
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Science news
Historic specimens highlight the key role viruses play in Arctic ecosystems
The algae could also be of interest in developing new drugs.
21 April 2021 -
News
Water from the deepest point on Earth joins the Museum collection
Last year an expedition to the Mariana Trench made history by conducting the deepest crewed dive ever.
24 March 2021 -
News
Fossil hunter Mary Anning commemorated with new 50p coin collection
New 50p coin collection honours fossil hunter Mary Anning.
25 February 2021 -
Oceans
What is an ammonite?
The often tightly wound shells of ammonites may be a familiar sight, but how much do you know about the animals that once lived inside?
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News
Perfectly preserved 4,000-year-old beetles uncovered
A pristine pair of ancient beetles were discovered in the Museum collection. They date back nearly 4,000 years.
28 January 2021 -
Science news
Armoured 'slug' among 503 new species described by Museum scientists in 2020
30 December 2020 -
Science news
Two new species of worm salamanders described from the Andes
One species is known only from a single specimen in the Museum's collection.
18 December 2020 -
Science news
Beautiful new emerald-green mineral described from Cornwall
New minerals from the UK are very rare.
11 December 2020 -
News
Curator Miranda Lowe conquers BBC's Woman's Hour Power List 2020
Miranda Lowe makes it onto BBC's Woman's Hour Power List 2020.
19 November 2020 -
News
One of the world's biggest sanctuaries for wildlife has just been created
The most remote inhabited island in the world has become one of the biggest wildlife sanctuaries on the planet.
13 November 2020 -
Science news
New species of monkey is already critically endangered
The Popa langur lives on an extinct volcano in Myanmar.
11 November 2020 -
How to make a salt dough ammonite fossil
If you can't get out to the beach to find fossils, why not make your own ammonites instead?
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Collections
Hidden figures: forgotten contributions to natural history
Discover more about the people behind the headlines and how they have been overlooked by the history books.
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Collections
Meet the Tanzanian building a herbarium to inspire the next generation
Canisius Kayombo is a remarkable researcher who is enriching our understanding of plants and science.
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Collections
John Edmonstone: the man who taught Darwin taxidermy
John Edmonstone was a former enslaved man who taught the young Charles Darwin the skill of taxidermy.
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Tring
A shaggy dog story: champion Wolverley Chummie
Before Instagram pet accounts and dog-related memes were a thing, Wolverley Chummie was a bona fide four-legged superstar.
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Science news
New Guinea is home to more plant species than any other island
The first taxonomically verified checklist of the plants of New Guinea is complete.
5 August 2020 -
Collections
London calling: nine specimens from the big city
These exhibits all have a story rooted in London, from the banks of the River Thames to Trafalgar Square and all the way to the Tower of London.
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Gilbert White: the modern naturalist
Gilbert White's talent and passion for observing and recording nature inspired many future naturalists, including Charles Darwin.
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Collections
The Natural History Museum in lockdown: flesh-eating beetles and exploding fossils
Who is looking after the collections while the Museum is in lockdown?
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What on Earth?
Snakestones: the myth, magic and science of ammonites
It was once widely believed that ammonites were coiled snakes turned magically to stone.
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Science news
Museum collections show how pangolin populations have shrunk
Discover how we're helping some of the most threatened animals on Earth.
30 April 2020 -
News
Terra Nova notebooks describing penguin sexual behaviours acquired by the Museum
Extraordinary notebooks from the Terra Nova Antarctic expedition are available for study for the first time.
25 April 2020 -
Dinosaurs
Brontosaurus: reinstating a prehistoric icon
For over 100 years palaeontologists thought this dinosaur didn't exist.
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Collections
14 highlights from the spirit collection
The Museum has over 23 million specimens stored in alcohol in the spirit collection. Explore some of the must-see specimens.
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Science news
How 150-year-old samples are teaching us about climate change
Samples collected on the HMS Challenger are teaching us about climate change.
31 January 2020 -
Collections
Maria Sibylla Merian: metamorphosis unmasked by art and science
Adventuring unchaperoned in seventeenth century Suriname, Maria Sibylla Merian blazed a trail for women and science.
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Biodiversity
The compelling case for why flies are actually fabulous
Did you know that there are more species of fly in the UK than there are mammals on the planet? And they perform some pretty important jobs.
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Science news
Fossils found in Yorkshire are the oldest amphibian footprints from the UK
The footprints were made when an ancient amphibian walked across a river delta.
12 December 2019 -
Dinosaurs
What is it like to go on a dino dig?
Explore an interactive story about Museum experts' adventure to Wyoming, USA, when they went off-grid in search of Jurassic dinosaurs.
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Collections
Nature's colours: from page to paint
A new partnership between the Museum and Farrow & Ball brings the colours of nature from the page to your home.
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Science news
There are more male than female specimens in natural history collections
Female specimens are under represented in collections.
23 October 2019 -
Collections
On tour with Tupaia
This charismatic Polynesian turned Cook's first voyage into his own ceremonial tour.
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Collections
Examining the body of one of the world's most elusive porpoise species
Museum scientists have dissected a spectacled porpoise specimen to discover more about these little known animals.
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Science news
Eight new species of jewel beetle have been uncovered
The beetles were collected more than 150 years ago.
27 September 2019 -
Tring
The tale of the tall emperor penguin
For around 175 years, no one knew the story of the emperor penguin (Aptenodytes forsteri) specimen, on display in Gallery One at the Natural History Museum in Tring.
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Science news
Mystery surrounding two Victorian frogs is solved
The frogs have been in the Museum collection since 1852.
13 September 2019 -
Space
Space highlights: Mars, Moon and meteorites
Blast off on an adventure around the galleries that are out of this world.
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British wildlife
Joules: Salisbury's rare barbastelle bat
Discover what happened to a rare bat that found itself in a high street shop.
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Collections
13 ways to be brave at the Museum
Be brave just like Matilda and go on an adventure around the galleries.
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Collections
The 330-million-year-old fossil tree that's stood the test of time
Discover the story of the 11-tonne fossil that's been welcoming visitors to the Museum since 1887.
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News
Scientists support restoration of Brazil's National Museum collections after fire
A year after the devastating blaze in Rio de Janeiro, hope lives on.
27 August 2019 -
News
Mantellisaurus: 3D-scanning one of the most complete British dinosaurs
A usually inaccessible dinosaur will be available to researchers around the world.
20 August 2019 -
Collections
A new look for Chi-Chi the panda
Find out why our conservators worked on Britain's most famous panda.
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Collections
Architect Alfred Waterhouse and his iconic Natural History Museum building
Explore a menagerie of designs fit for a 'cathedral to nature'.
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Space
In pictures: Apollo missions and the Museum
The Museum cares for the only piece of Apollo 17 Moon rock gifted to the UK, but our connection with NASA's missions goes back to Apollo 11.
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Science news
Are natural history museums inherently racist?
How these institutions now engage with their history is crucial in how they move forward.
16 July 2019 -
Science news
A new look at the Gibraltar Neanderthals
Discover more about some iconic Neanderthal skulls.
15 July 2019 -
Collections
Joseph Banks: scientist, explorer and botanist
Meet eighteenth-century naturalist and collector Sir Joseph Banks.
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Dinosaurs
Meet the Museum's dinosaur hunters
Get to know the Museum scientists working on the latest dinosaur discoveries.
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British wildlife
How to press flowers
Follow our simple instructions to prepare pressed flowers for craft projects or create your own plant herbarium.
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Collections
Nadine Gabriel: studying 4.6 billion years of history
The face of modern science is young, black, female and ambitious.
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News
New arrivals of Amazonian moss animals boost the world's largest collection
The Museum now has the largest collection of freshwater bryozoa in the world.
23 May 2019 -
Collections
Ida Slater: a geologist ahead of her time
Discover the important contributions made by one of London's first woman geologists.
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Collections
12 highlights of the Treasures gallery
A royal lion skull, a Moon rock, a famous gorilla, even Darwin's pigeons: uncover some of the most extraordinary specimens in the Museum's collections.
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Collections
Beetles and bloodsuckers
Go behind the scenes at the Museum and discover the huge variety of beetles and parasites in the collection.
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What on Earth?
What is natural selection?
Natural selection is one of the core processes of evolution - but how does it work and will it ever end?
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Science news
New species of extinct pig-footed bandicoot described from Australia
Driven to extinction in the 1950s, very little is know about this species.
13 March 2019 -
Dinosaurs
Franz Nopcsa: the dashing baron who discovered dwarf dinosaurs
Nopcsa was ahead of his time, publishing many creative scientific theories on dinosaurs and other reptiles. He was also a spy and a would-be king.
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Collections
Space, specimens and dating strategies
This month on #NHM_Live we're putting animal dating strategies to the test.
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Collections
Eugen Sandow: a body worth immortalising
A statue of the Victorian sex symbol was displayed at the Museum.
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Science news
If you're a bird, you aren't what you eat
A new paper is shedding light on the relationship between a bird's diet and how it looks.
20 February 2019 -
News
Royal visit commemorates Darwin's birthday
The Duke and Duchess of Sussex visited the Museum to watch a performance of The Wider Earth.
13 February 2019 -
Collections
Mylodon darwinii: Darwin's ground sloth
The first specimen of Mylodon darwinii, a ground sloth found by Charles Darwin in 1832, is now available online.
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Collections
Museum highlights: Charles Darwin
Take a closer look at nine highlights, including Darwin's favourite octopus and a rare first edition of his book, On the Origin of Species.
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News
Queen Alexandra birdwing butterfly display causes a flutter
A display showcasing Queen Alexandra birdwing butterfly specimens is open at the Museum at Tring.
8 February 2019 -
Collections
Fishy faces, fur and feathers
Meet some faces that only an ichthyologist could love and catch up on the latest natural history news.
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News
John and Elizabeth Gould's watercolour bird drawings join the Museum collection
A volume of historical bird illustrations has joined the Museum collections.
14 January 2019 -
Collections
Hans Sloane: physician, collector and botanist
Hans Sloane's collection formed the basis of the Natural History Museum.
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Dinosaurs
How did Baryonyx change what we knew about spinosaurs?
Although spinosaurs were named in 1915, little was known about these giants until a 31-centimetre-long claw was discovered in the UK in 1983.
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Collections
Specimen stores and lights at night
Find out what can happen when fieldwork doesn't go exactly as planned, and how to do a simple DIY science project at home.
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News
Mary Anning Rocks: the campaign for a statue of the palaeontologist in Lyme Regis
A campaign group have attracted national attention for their quest to get her permanently commemorated.
21 May 2022 -
Anthropocene
Steller's sea cow: the first historical extinction of marine mammal at human hands
Unusually for a modern mammal, we know little of it from a true natural history perspective.
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Collections
Attenborosaurus: a celebrity reptile
This long-necked skeleton is Attenborosaurus, an extinct marine reptile named after legendary broadcaster Sir David Attenborough.
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News
Darwin's giant ground sloth skull pieced together and scanned for the first time
Half of the skull was lost for over a century.
23 November 2018 -
Collections
What was Megatherium?
Darwin collected fossils of these ancient giant sloths when he visited South America.
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Collections
Spiders, cetaceans and skeletons
Museum experts catch us up on some of the latest natural history news.
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Dinosaurs
Iguanodon: the teeth that led to a dinosaur discovery
Discover how sparkling roadside rocks paved the way for everything we know about Iguanodon.
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Collections
The Museum at wartime
During the Second World War a number of galleries were commandeered by British spy networks. Explore the secret wartime history of the Museum, in photographs.