Press releases

The Natural History Museum is pleased to announce that Tanuja Randery and Professor Kate Robson Brown have joined the Museum as Trustees.

Marking 10 years of digitisation, the Museum has digitised its 6 millionth specimen, a forest caterpillar hunter beetle rarely found in the UK.

Visitors to the Natural History Museum, London, can now get up close to a rare, crystallised gold specimen, nicknamed the Dragon due to its spectacular appearance. 

Step into a new immersive experience presented by Sir David Attenborough at the Natural History Museum. Produced in collaboration with Open Planet Studios, Our Story with David Attenborough opens 19 June 2025

Documentary heritage relating to the life and work of Charles Darwin has been recognised on the prestigious UNESCO International Memory of the World Register, highlighting its critical importance to global science and the necessity of its long-term preservation and accessibility.

The Natural History Museum hosted a formal ceremony on 10 April 2025 with Australia’s Department of Infrastructure, Transport, Regional Development, Communications and the Arts (the department), Queensland Museum and Traditional Custodians from Queensland communities to mark the return of 36 First Nations ancestors.

The Natural History Museum announces a new research project to tackle major environmental challenges.

The Natural History Museum announces a new research project to tackle major environmental challenges.

Anjali is a Research Leader and Individual Merit Researcher in Evolutionary Biology at the NHM.

New study proposes research rethink to better understand and support these vital creatures

The permanent gallery explores practical, nature-based solutions to some of the biggest challenges facing the planet today through the lens of Museum collections and science. 

The results show long-term changes to the sediments and a mixed outlook for animals living at these depths

The Museum celebrates its best-ever year with a total of 6,301,972 visits to the Museum in South Kensington in 2024

Experience a once in a lifetime opportunity to touch a real piece of Mars, the Moon and a meteorite older than the solar system while searching for life in space.

Book discounted early bird tickets now. 

Nearly 75% of the world’s food supply comes from just 12 crops, making global agriculture highly vulnerable to environmental changes like flooding, drought and disease

A moth collected by Alfred Russel Wallace over a century ago and use of cutting-edge technology helps NHM scientists identify 11 new moth species

Dinosaurs Live! combines the Museum’s world-leading expertise and the theatrical magic of Mark Thompson Productions for a ferociously fun experience for all the family.

The Natural History Museum announces it has funded 12 regional museums, heritage and cultural partners across the UK to run events and activity focused on creating advocates for the planet. 

Fixing Our Broken Planet opens Thursday 3 April 2025 and will be free for all visitors.

The 25 nominated images for this year's Wildlife Photographer of the Year People’s Choice Award received a record number of votes with over 76,000 wildlife photography and nature fans from around the world voting for their favourite image.

A team of scientists from across the globe have discovered minerals in the asteroid sample Bennu that have never before been seen in meteorites that have fallen to Earth.

She will be key in leading the Museum's collections and acquisitions strategy and ensuring that its collections continue to be a valuable resource for scientists and researchers worldwide.

The research reveals new insights into Mars’ watery past, how its surface has evolved, and its potential to support life. 

The list includes a species of fossilised dung named after Winnie the Pooh author, a piranha called Sauron after the Lord of the Rings villain, three dinosaurs and a pterosaur 

Scientists have described a new species of reptile notable for its unusual dental apparatus and jaw mechanics.

New study reinforces the claim that Neanderthals and modern-day humans must be classed as separate species in order to best track our evolutionary history. 

From a determined honey badger attempting to catch a spikey meal to a beluga whale exfoliating its skin, the 25 striking images offer a powerful insight into the remarkable beauty of nature as well as the critical challenges facing wildlife today.

The Christmas T. rex marks the start of the Museum’s Christmas celebration, with its festive knitwear and Christmas range available in store and online now

The Museum leads project to investigate how Antarctic krill is being impacted by the Anthropocene.

New analysis from Museum scientists shows current conservation efforts are not adequately protecting the land that provides our most critical ecosystem services, which 6 billion people depend on

Wildlife Photographer of the Year has opened its sixty-first competition, calling for entries from photographers across the globe of all nationalities, backgrounds and experience levels.

Celebrating its sixtieth year, the flagship Wildlife Photographer of the Year exhibition featuring the 100 awarded images will open on Friday 11 October 2024 at the Natural History Museum, London.

The first annual report from the National Education Nature Park has been published

A new species of moth has been described far away from home following a cross-continent detective journey. 

The international panel of experts will select the next Wildlife Photographer of the Year winners and accompanying portfolio, which will be displayed in a new exhibition launching at the Natural History Museum, London, in October 2025.

Natural History Museum to fundraise £150 million to transform the museum at South Kensington in time for 150th anniversary in 2031

Visions of Nature: A mixed reality experience opens Thursday 24 October

Wildlife Photographer of the Year Academy is led by the Natural History Museum, London, in collaboration with the British Council.

The upcoming Wildlife Photographer of the Year exhibition will showcase 100 photographs from around the world from 11 October 2024 in London.

Dental growth rings reveal dramatic differences in growth patterns between ancient and modern mammals 

A Little Gay Natural History is set to be published in paperback in retailers across the UK on 04 September 2024.

Scientists have found that the same ancient gene family is responsible for the evolution and loss of prickles across many plants. 

New AirSeq technology detects airborne crop diseases saving farmers' money and promoting sustainable farming practices

From Thursday 18 July, the Natural History Museum’s reimagined gardens will open their gates. Visitors can explore, rest and connect with urban nature in the free-to-visit green space in the heart of London this summer. 

Lord Hall was originally appointed to the Natural History Museum Board of Trustees on 29 November 2023 and will take over as Chair immediately.

The specimen, which is around 125 million years old, was found in the cliffs of Compton Bay on the Isle of Wight. 

The River – an underwater sound composition by Jana Winderen in collaboration with Tony Myatt, opening Friday 26 July. 

The arrangement of legs, and exceptionally preserved soft tissue, such as the trilobites’ mouthparts and internal organs, can be seen in exquisite detail.

The findings will be exhibited at the Royal Society’s free, public Summer Science Exhibition (2-7 July 2024).

The Bornean elephant, has been officially classified as Endangered and added to the International Union for the Conservation of Nature (IUCN) Red List of Threatened Species. 

In delivering outstanding scientific leadership in combatting the parasitic disease schistosomiasis in Africa, David has improved the lives and well-being of many thousands of people for generations to come.

Evolutionary analysis reveals that Musankwa sanyatiensis was a member of the Sauropodomorpha, a group of bipedal, long-necked dinosaurs that were widespread during the Late Triassic. 

In affiliation with the RSPB, find out how you can help protect birds, ensuring earth’s greatest survivors continue to flourish alongside humanity

The fossil is estimated to be around 425 million years old and is the youngest species of this group to be formally described 

This will enable experts to explore their potential uses in addressing some of the most pressing problems facing humanity. 

Results suggest that the way these early animals mixed the water around them may have driven evolutionary innovation, such as the evolution of new feeding and movement styles.

Fellows are elected for life through a peer review process on the basis of excellence in science.

A transformed green space in the heart of London where visitors can connect with nature, the five-acre site will also be a hub for Museum scientists and volunteers to develop best practices to protect and enhance urban nature.

A world-class line-up of speakers will come together for a unique programme of talks and panels at Bristol Aquarium that will explore the triumphs and challenges of capturing nature in photography, as well as the future of the genre. 

Robert Noel and Prof Yadvinder Malhi CBE FRS have had their terms as Museum trustees extended by two and four years respectively

The tree can inform plant classification, discovery of new medicines and aid the conservation of plants in the face of climate change and biodiversity loss.

Authors warn that the birds are likely to be drawn to new unprotected areas in the search for food which will have implications for conservation 

UK natural science collections hold more than 137 million items spanning an incredible 4.6-billion-year history - researchers use these collections to find solutions to global problems like biodiversity loss and food security

According to the Association of Leading Visitor Attractions (ALVA), the Museum achieved a 22% increase in attendance with 5,688,786 visits last year, making it the second most visited attraction in the UK

The findings have lead scientists from across the world to officially propose that the area is a new ecoregion - the South East Africa Montane Archipelago (SEAMA). 

To mark the occasion, for the first time, the Museum has released CGI flythrough footage of what the facility is expected to look like.

Snakes evolved legless bodies, chemical detection systems and flexible skulls that enabled them to specialise on prey other reptiles, including lizards, cannot

Explore the astonishing adaptations and behaviours which have led birds to triumph on every corner of Earth.

Amber housing a pair of flies trapped in copulation have been digitised by the Natural History Museum in time for Valentine’s Day.

The 25 images in the running for this year's Wildlife Photographer of the Year People’s Choice Award received a record number of votes with over 75,000 wildlife photography and nature fans from around the world casting their votes to name British amateur photographer Nima Sarikhani this year’s winner. 

The pterosaur, named Ceoptera evansae, lived during the Middle Jurassic period (around 168–166 million years ago)

Young climate advocates, artists, educators and scientists set to come together for free programme of events exploring our current planetary emergency.

Neil Greenwood, Brad Irwin and Mark Read have been named

With Earth facing a biodiversity crisis, it has never been more important to understand the life that shares our planet. 

The existence of early Homo sapiens in Europe was over 150,000 years earlier than first thought

As birds continue to suffer from plastic ingestion, this new technology aims to accurately assess marine plastic pollution.

The species was found in a fossil specimen from the Rhynie Chert housed in the Natural History Museum’s collections.

From a mudskipper fish defending its territory to a young London fox making the most of a full bin, the 25 unforgettable images explore the beauty of the natural world and the impact of our actions. 

Both Trustees will commence an initial four-year term on 1 November 2023

The two organisations will open up significant insight to the Financial Markets 

Scientists are calling for more research to be done to gain a clearer understanding of how this process is impacting fragile marine environments.

The Natural History Museum has received 100mg of the asteroid Bennu for study.

Throughout COP28, the NHM will focus on biodiversity loss, as a fate as dangerous to people and the planet as climate change and show that the solutions are linked.

135-year-old specimens, along with cutting-edge genetic techniques, were key to concluding that a brand new species to science had been discovered and that it was a long way from home

The katydid evolved to best pick up the calls of its species but could also tune in to nearby echolocation calls of early bats 

Toad found living on volcano is new species and genus

The digitisation of birds from the Natural History Museum, Tring, and Manchester Museum collections help to explain different routes of evolution 

To celebrate the momentous anniversary, Wildlife Photographer of the Year has also announced an entry fee waiver for over 100 countries, changes to the competition’s rules, and a new special prize to encourage hopeful stories of the natural world.  

Scientists from the Natural History Museum will be part of a worldwide team to study the Bennu sample

Analysis could help us understand the origins of our Solar System

Ahead of the landmark competition, Wildlife Photographer of the Year has also announced an entry fee waiver for over 100 countries, changes to the competition’s rules, and a new special prize to encourage hopeful stories of the natural world.

A forest rodeo, a hidden stargazer and a mason bee at work are just a few of the awe-inspiring images featured in the fifty-ninth Wildlife Photographer of the Year competition. 

Shahpur joins the Museum as its new Legal Trustee. He is a Partner of Simpson Thacher & Bartlett LLP, a leading global law firm. 

As Africa became increasingly arid in the past 10 million years, elephant teeth became increasingly adapted to resist wear

As the UK’s most popular museum approaches its 150th birthday with a bold new strategy, a vision of a future where both people and the planet thrive and a mission to create advocates for the planet – it now has a new identity to match its ambitions.

International team revise behaviour of Cambrian creature

Sir David’s quote will inspire visitors to the Museum’s new gardens as part of its Urban Nature Project opening in 2024

Discover solutions from science and nature 

Attendees will delve into the Museum’s cutting-edge research and discover the hidden gems that lie behind the scenes in its collections. 

First armoured dinosaur to be described from the Isle of Wight in 142 years 

Over 90% of species in one of the most likely future mining sites are undescribed by science 

The Natural History Museum, London has been selected as one of five finalists for Art Fund Museum of the Year 2023, the world’s largest museum prize.

“Prehistoric Planet” season two premieres globally today, May 22, with an epic five-night event on Apple TV+

New research offers ways to speed up the production of varieties that yield more crops and are resistant to environmental challenges 

Analysis of well-preserved Rotadiscus fossils sheds light on the origin and evolution of major groups alive today.

A new species of shorebird has emerged once again from the shadow of its close relative. DNA sequencing integral to suggesting that the two species diverged around 1.2 million years ago.

Together with faith leaders, young Londoners of all faiths and none shared in the breaking of the Ramadan fast in the iconic Hintze Hall under Hope the Whale

Teeth found in southern England could represent some of the earliest relatives of birds ever discovered

Analysis of hundreds of living and extinct species by Natural History Museum scientists reveals that the diversity of body size across whales and dolphins is a more complex phenomenon than first thought

Titanosaur: Life as the biggest dinosaur opens in South Kensington on Friday 31 March 2023.

Body condition of fledgling shearwaters has rapidly declined over the last decade

The specimens in these collections span millions of years, every ocean and land mass of the planet as well as items from across the solar system 

On Earth Day (April 22), the Natural History Museum is launching a major new community science project ‘Nature Overheard’, investigating the link between noise pollution and insect populations.

The Museum is continuing to see strong visitor attendance in 2023 so far and is on track to exceed 5 million for the financial year. 

The Natural History Museum is pleased to announce the appointment of Professor Dame Jane Francis DCMG FRS to the Board of Trustees.

A huge diversity of animals and plants both living and extinct have been named, from stick insects to dinosaurs and even a tiny beetle trapped in Ukrainian amber, not to mention an impressive 85 new species of wasps. 

The Natural History Museum has announced ‘NHM Masterclass’, a series of short courses covering the breadth of cutting-edge science undertaken by researchers at the Museum. 

The public are invited to have their say and vote for their favourite image to win this year’s Wildlife Photographer of the Year People’s Choice Award run by the Natural History Museum, London.

Presented by UNESCO and the Natural History Museum – this eye-catching artwork translates the scientific data and will help turn abstract commitments into tangible, understandable and visual experiences 

The Natural History Museum, London, Victoria Memorial Hall Kolkata, and British Council are thrilled to announce the opening of an exhibition titled Young Minds for a Compassionate World, as part of the ongoing India/UK Together, a Season of Culture.

The Winchcombe meteorite contains water similar to that found on Earth

A new paper uses a range of high-resolution analytical techniques to establish the biological origins of Earth’s oldest stromatolites from the 3.48 billion-year-old Dresser Formation, Pilbara, Western Australia.

The Museum is delighted to be working with the Department for Education to lead a new partnership to establish a National Education Nature Park and climate action awards scheme.

The next biggest drivers are the exploitation of wildlife though fishing, logging, trade and hunting - and then pollution

Aye-ayes recorded using their elongated finger to pick their nose

A ground-breaking new research project has analysed the evolution of the placental mammal skull and crafted a new model of how mammals diversified based on the emerging patterns. 

The study shows that it is possible to obtain useful genetic information from some of the oldest human skeletal material in Britain

Visitors to the Natural History Museum will soon be able to engage with an emotive, life-like digital recreation of a northern white rhinoceros. 

Both Ryugu and CI chondrite meteorites originate from the same region of space, on the outskirts of the solar system, and could even have shared the same parent body

For the fifty-ninth year, the Natural History Museum’s prestigious Wildlife Photographer of the Year competition has opened for entries from photographers of all ages, nationalities, and levels. 

New research suggests the health impacts of plastic pollution on seabirds could previously have been grossly underestimated

The winners of the Natural History Museum’s prestigious Wildlife Photographer of the Year competition were announced at an awards ceremony in London today.The Natural History Museum will reveal the redesigned Wildlife Photographer of the Year exhibition featuring the awarded images on 14 October 2022 in London.

This partnership will help the Museum’s scientists to build on scientific understanding of the UK’s biodiversity and environment, encourage more integrated cross-disciplinary research programmes, and drive forward science-led nature recovery in the UK’s urban spaces.

The Natural History Museum’s acclaimed Wildlife Photographer of the Year competition has announced Kathy Moran, former Deputy Director of Photography of National Geographic Magazine, as the Chair of the jury of the fifty-ninth edition. 

Diagnosis concluded from this research should enable the preservation of more historic works of art in the future

Sample return from Hayabusa2 unlocks minerology and early history of asteroid Ryugu 

Construction for the Urban Nature Project has begun 

Climate and environment activist Greta Thunberg recently visited the Natural History Museum in London, where she came face to face with some its most spectacular exhibits – including the nation’s favourite dinosaur, Dippy the Diplodocus and the first Mantellisaurus dinosaur specimen to ever be discovered.

The earliest known extinct mammal has been identified using fossil dental records

An underwater wonderland, a disappearing giraffe and a treefrog pool party are just a few of the spectacular images included in the preview of Wildlife Photographer of the Year's fifty-eighth competition. 

Scientists analysed DNA from the remains of six individuals excavated in central Norwich, finding strong genetic affinities with modern Ashkenazi Jews, making them the oldest Jewish genomes to have been sequenced.

Excavations in South Africa, led by palaeontologists from the Evolutionary Studies Institute, Johannesburg, and the Natural History Museum, have unearthed a ‘bonebed’ of Lesothosaurus individuals, providing some of the earliest direct evidence of social living among ornithischian dinosaurs.

This study can help predict when and where bees will face most stress and potential decline in the future

The Natural History Museum’s free display ‘Our Broken Planet: How We Got Here and Ways to Fix It’ is set to close on 29 August, after receiving over a million visitors since opening in May last year.  

A programme of free in-person and online events this September will help young people aged 15-25 around the world drive positive change for global future

The Museum has launched an international digitisation collaboration which will mobilise a wealth of data on the scientific, geological and environmental history of Singapore.

Ecological artist Thijs Biersteker has created a 5-metre-tall robotic plant, using biodiversity data from the Natural History Museum, to create a (literally) moving monument to the importance of the choices we are making now for the future of our planet. 

The project will transform the Museum’s five-acre site into a free-to-visit green space in the heart of London opening next summer. 

Scientists have revealed the origins of endothermy in mammals, tracing the characteristic’s origins to around 233 million years ago.

Moth collected by Museum founder re-discovered during digitisation process 218 years after his birth

Today, the Natural History Museum has transferred the custodianship and care of the ancestral remains of over 100 individuals who will be returned to New Zealand. A formal ceremony took place at the Museum to mark this significant event.

The discovery of the rockrose prickly leaf beetle (Dicladispa testacea) is the first time the species has been recorded in Britain. It was identified from adult beetles on its namesake plant - the rockrose (Cistus) - in a garden in Surrey.

A team of scientists led by Dr Blanca Huertas of the Natural History Museum in London has published a free identification guide for the unique butterflies of Colombia. 

Ryugu dust represents some of the most pristine samples of ancient solar system ever studied

The bones are likely to be the youngest spinosaur material yet known from the UK

The Natural History Museum is delighted that Miranda Lowe, Principal Curator of Crustacea has been awarded with a CBE in the Queen’s Birthday Honours list 2022.

The nation’s favourite dinosaur is back at the Natural History Museum.

Dippy is back for a limited time - the free installation opens on Friday 27 May.

The Natural History Museum is pleased to announce the appointment of Mark Read to the Board of Trustees, from 1 June 2022.

The fossils are microscopic imprints, or ‘ghosts’, of single-celled plankton, called coccolithophores, that lived in the seas millions of years ago, and their discovery is changing our understanding of how plankton in the oceans are affected by climate change.

The Natural History Museum is today announcing plans to develop a new global and sustainable base for high-end natural sciences research and international collaboration with the University of Reading. 

Study includes largest whale skull data set ever gathered including specimens of living species and fossilised animals.

The Natural History Museum has completed creating digital records of over 8000 bat specimens, providing a unique record of where bat populations have existed over time. 

An international team from London’s Natural History Museum, the University of Southampton and the Berkeley Institute for Data Science at the University of California have used the Natural History Museum’s digitised butterfly collections to evaluate the impact of climate change on British butterfly species size. 

The Association of Leading Visitor Attractions (ALVA) has released the visitor figures of its members for 2021 today (Friday, March 18, 2022), revealing the Natural History Museum achieved a 21% increase in attendance with 1,571,413 visitors last year making it the most popular indoor attraction in the UK.

The Natural History Museum is searching for a partner venue to host the iconic Diplodocus cast for a long-term loan

The species is the earliest thyreophoran (armoured) dinosaur found in China to date

The Natural History Museum celebrates Mars Day and week with an art installation of the red planet by artist Luke Jerram

The new special, airing 27 February, will see Stephen Fry investigate the stories behind some of the world’s most fantastic beasts. 

The nation's favourite dinosaur is being welcomed home to the Natural History Museum, London for a limited time from May.

 This unique exhibition will take visitors on an underwater journey to encounter some of the impressive, strange creatures that dominated Earth’s Jurassic seas while dinosaurs ruled the land.

An enchanting image of willow branches mirrored by the surface of a frozen Italian lake, submitted in dedication to a lost friend, has won Wildlife Photographer of the Year People’s Choice Award 2021.

Scientists have discovered evidence of the earliest modern humans (Homo sapiens) in western Europe from a cave in France’s Rhône Valley.

The Trustees of the Natural History Museum are delighted to announce that Sir Patrick Vallance, the Government Chief Scientific Adviser.

The Darwin Tree of Life project, including a team from the Natural History Museum, is working to sequence the genomes of 70,000 species of animal, plant, fungi in Britain and Ireland as part of the larger Earth BioGenome Project.

Over five million specimens – around six percent of the Natural History Museum’s collection –have now been digitised and released onto the Museum’s Data Portal where they can be freely accessed globally. 

Scientists from the Natural History Museum and Durham University have conducted the first study of its kind linking magma recharge patterns 

A major new study of ancient DNA has traced the movement of people into southern Britain during the Bronze Age. In the largest such analysis published to date, scientists including those from the Natural History Museum examined the DNA of nearly 800 ancient individuals.

Natural History Museum today announces its range of engagement activity throughout COP26, in Glasgow, London and digitally; including collaboration with The New York Times Climate Hub and other projects.

Natural History Museum analysis has revealed that the UK has only 53% of its biodiversity left.

The Natural History Museum’s Urban Nature Project will create an urban nature movement through a UK-wide learning programme for young people

The visit coincided with the publication of the Museum’s Annual Review which shows how it is addressing the planetary emergency. 

Despite an uncertain year with much acitvity at the Museum slowedcrucial work has continued.

The Natural History Museum is delighted to be able to, once again, offer a warm welcome to visitors

Sir David Attenborough says the Urban Nature Project will allow young people to “fall in love with the nature on their doorsteps.”  

A new study of over 390 birds and dinosaurs shows that bird skulls evolve much more slowly than other dinosaurs and are far less diverse than their extinct ancestors. 

The Natural History Museum has become custodian of a unique and scientifically pre-eminent set of original manuscript notebooks written by Dr George Murray Levick.

It will start a national drive to reengage people with the natural world and urban biodiversity.

Samples collected 150 years ago are helping measure how acidification is impacting the world's oceans. 

The galleries will resonate with sounds from nature.

During the past 12 months, scientists at the Natural History Museum have described over 400 new species which were previously unknown to science.

Hermit crabs have been killed on the Cocos (Keeling) Islands and Henderson Island.

Her Royal Highness meets those responsible for efforts to revolutionise the study of UK wildlife and engage young people with the nature on their doorstep. 

A letter has today been delivered to the Committee on Climate Change.

World-renowned nature photography competition launches People’s Choice Award.

Online voting open now, until 5 January 2016.

Meet the first complete dinosaur specimen to go on display at the Natural History Museum in nearly 100 years.