Natural History Museum

An incredible 78 photographers from 117 countries and territories captured fleeting moments and jaw dropping scenes in this year’s Wildlife Photographer of the Year!

Nearly 60,000 photographs were entered into this year’s Wildlife Photographer of the Year competition, but our international panel of judges could only award 100 finalists. 📸 25 further memorable images have been selected and now you have the chance to vote for your favourite! 🏆 Expect breathtaking scenes, from a determined honey badger attempting to catch a spikey meal and a beluga whale exfoliating its skin. Choose your winner 👇 https://brnw.ch/21wP0SB Voting is open until 29 January 2025.

We're thrilled to have won this award with Manifesto for the National Education Nature Park, and to be working with our partners and the Department for Education to bring climate and nature education to all. Over 4,000 schools, colleges and nurseries are now signed up, and we can't wait to see it grow even further!

How do you feel looking at this board of beetles? Is there an urge to organise, or do you like the visual variety? 🪲🐞 Natural History Museum scientists faced the same conundrum in 1983 when entomologist Francis Polkinghorne Pascoe sold us his whopping collection of 42,000 specimens. Usually scientists would split up arrangements like this, sorting these beetles - an array of different species of weevil - by their different classifications to aid their scientific study. But in this case, they decided the display - with its incredible diversity of sizes, shapes and colours - was beautiful in its own right and should be kept as it is. 🎨 Would you make the same decision? Is there a place for art in science? Let us know what you think ⬇️

Pangea might be a word you have come across in your textbooks at school. Do you know what it refers to? 🤔

When we look back on 2024 in years to come, we’ll always remember the amazing feeling of welcoming you all to our new gardens at the culmination of our Urban Nature Project.🌿  On your next visit, you can trace the history of how life on Earth has changed across the millennia, from the age of the dinosaurs to today. And of course, don’t forget to say hello to Fern, our new-but-already-iconic bronze diplodocus, captured here by Tom Duke! 🦕  We’re feeling extra grateful for all of this today, the 30th anniversary of the National Lottery Promotions Unit. They made this project possible alongside numerous other funders at the Museum over the decades. As we continue to enjoy our vibrant new gardens, we thank them (and the players) for their support!   #NationalLottery30 

When the Wildlife Photographer of the Year jury reviewed the near 60,000 entries we received, they looked for photographs with a strong, immediate impact that make us look at familiar or new subjects in fresh ways.  What do you think makes a great photograph? Let us know what you think in the comments. ⬇️

Have you ever wondered what Jurassic actually means? 🤔 The Jurassic Period is a geological period that began around 201 million years ago and saw significant environmental changes that affected the species living on Earth at the time. 🌎 The Jurassic Period is named after the Jura Mountains, where German naturalist Alexander von Humboldt first noticed that Jurassic rocks were distinct from those of the Triassic Period that came before it. Until then, Earth’s continents were part of a supercontinent called Pangea. During the Jurassic, it started to split into two huge landmasses: Laurasia and Gondwana, separated by the ancient Tethys Ocean. Known as the golden age of dinosaurs, the Jurassic Period saw these ancient creatures thrive. Following a mass extinction that wiped out up to 80% of species, dinosaurs adapted. They grew and developed unique features like horns and crests. Dinosaurs from the Jurassic period include the Allosaurus and the Diplodocus, one of the longest land animals ever. How did the Jurassic Period come to an end? That remains a mystery. After the Jurassic Period came the Cretaceous Period, which includes perhaps the most recognisable dinosaurs of them all, the T.rex. 🦖

We are so excited for the release of this year’s Christmas jumper – and as you can see, we’re not the only ones! 😮   Working with Not Just Clothing, we love being able to create a huge version of this year’s festive design for our amazing animatronic T. rex! 🦖 Now made from 100% organic cotton, you can find the human-sized version in our shop, a perfect gift for the dinosaur lover in your life. 🎁 Discover our jumper, available online and instore: https://brnw.ch/21wOz01