Our Gardens

Open daily from 18 July

(Closed 24-26 December)

Our gardens are free, no ticket required. Get a free ticket to visit the Museum as well.

South Kensington, London

Download a map (278KB)

Escape the hustle and bustle of city life in our gardens.

Follow the story of how life on Earth has changed over time in our new gardens, from the days of the dinosaurs through to today.

As you move through our gardens, follow in the footsteps of evolution. Along the way feel ancient fossils, spot a grazing Hypsilophodon and tread among the footprints of your oldest ancestors.

Then leave the past behind as you step into the present day. Into an urban world, but one that makes space for wildlife. As you explore our grassland, wetland and woodland habitats, experience how nature can thrive in urban spaces.

Sink into your surroundings and soak in the sights and sounds of nature as you discover the creatures that have made their homes here. Take time to tune into the birds singing in the trees, to watch the ripples dance across our ponds and to contemplate a future that works for people and the planet.

Star specimens and exhibits

watch dragonflies hover over our wildlife ponds
listen to birdsong and soak in the sounds of nature
gaze up at Fern, our full-size, bronze Diplodocus supported by Kusuma Trust
hear from our local community about the plants they chose for our gardens
contemplate the future of nature in our Conservation in Action Yard

Adventure awaits in our new gardens – a paradise for little explorers and time travellers.

Your little adventurers will love exploring our new gardens. Whizzed back into the past, they’ll get to touch the oldest rock in Britain and feel real fossil ammonites and trilobites. As they trace history with their fingertips, beneath their feet, footprints hint at a prehistoric world.

Emerging into our Jurassic jungle, spot a Hypsilophodon prowling among small palms, before setting off on the trail once more. Is it just us or are the prints starting to become more familiar? As they tread inside the footsteps, your little explorers will get to see how they measure up to their earliest human ancestors. But that’s not all!

More adventure awaits them over at our new ponds. From newts to dragonflies, they're brimming with wildlife. A haven in the heart of the city, our gardens are the perfect place for little ones to look at and listen to nature. Here, they can sing along with the birds, get mucky in the soil, hunt for bugs and beetles or just lie back and watch the clouds go by.

There’s so much to discover on your next visit. Let the adventure begin!

Star specimens and exhibits

come face-to-face with Fern, our full-size, bronze Diplodocus supported by Kusuma Trust
look out for newts and frogs in our wildlife ponds
spot a prowling Hypsilophodon and a tiny Megazostrodon
feel the ridges on a real fossil ammonite
weave among the tree ferns and cycads in our Jurassic jungle

An extensive revamp has transformed the land around the museum into an educational outdoor space – my four-year-old loved it.

★★★★★ - The Telegraph

The Museum's newly transformed gardens are a cultural triumph.

The Guardian

Visiting, access and important information

Tickets and opening times

Our gardens are free to visit. You don't need a ticket.

If you'd also like to go inside the Museum, get your free entry ticket on our website to guarantee your entry and so you can skip the queue during busy times.

The Evolution Garden will be open daily 10.00-17.50. Our Nature Discovery Garden supported by The Cadogan Charity is open daily, but only during daylight hours as we've removed lighting in this part of our gardens in order to protect the wildlife that lives there. At the moment, the Nature Discovery Garden will close at 17.00.

Toilets

All toilets are marked on our map.

Find out more about Access at the Museum

Visiting information

Smoking (including the use of electronic cigarettes and vaping products) is not permitted in our gardens.

Assistance dogs and guide dogs are welcome at the Museum and in our gardens. Please leave non-assistance dogs and other animals at home. If you have any questions around assistance animals please contact us in advance of your visit.

Listen to our audio guide

This free audio guide contains described navigation alongside information from our gardens including stories from scientists, Museum staff and other experts.

Listen to the guides

What can you see, hear, smell and touch in our gardens?

Our new gardens are a living laboratory that offers nature of all shapes and sizes an inner-city home. From the tiniest microorganisms that keep our soil healthy to the foxes that play among our trees and bushes, there's so much to discover.

What can you do in our gardens?

Our new gardens are a living laboratory that offers nature of all shapes and sizes an inner-city home. Join a guided tour, make the most of an evening visit or take part in one of our free activities to discover all there is to see, smell, hear and touch.