Natural History Museum

A world-leading research centre and the most-visited indoor attraction in the UK, the Natural History Museum houses one of the world's most important scientific collections, comprising over 80 million specimens. The oldest item, the Wold Cottage meteorite, is thought to be around 4.6 billion years old.

The museum has drawn together its most significant and valuable objects and put them in the upper mezzanine of the central hall. The Treasures gallery comprises 22 star objects, including the skull of a Barbary lion, thought to have lived in the Tower of London around the year 1300; an archaeopteryx fossil, the most valuable fossil in the collection; Audubon's The Birds of America, the world's most expensive book; a dodo skeleton; fragments of moon rock; and a first edition of Darwin's On the Origin of Species.

Don't miss the stunning architecture of the Cocoon space, which offers opportunities to gain an insight into the work done by the museum's 350 scientists, who are finding solutions to key issues facing the planet, from biodiversity loss to sustainable extraction of natural resources. The digitisation of the collection also allows scientists and researchers from all over the world access their unrivalled historical, geographic and taxonomic specimen data, empowering everyone to become advocates for the planet.

And no trip to the Natural History Museum would be complete without a visit to Hintze Hall, where a gigantic blue whale skeleton leads a cast of stars of the natural world, telling the dramatic story of evolution, diversity in the world today and our urgent role in the planet’s future.

Please note, to book ahead, National Art Pass tickets must be booked by calling the Natural History Museum on 0207 942 5725 and cannot currently be booked online through the Natural History Museum website. Tickets can also be bought in person at the venue.