2014 London: Natural History Museum #54
The Natural History Museum in London is a museum exhibiting a vast range of specimens from various segments of natural history.
The museum is home to life and earth science specimens comprising some 80 million items within five main collections: botany, entomology, mineralogy, palaeontology and zoology.
The museum is a world-renowned centre of research specialising in taxonomy, identification and conservation. Given the age of the institution, many of the collections have great historical as well as scientific value, such as specimens collected by Charles Darwin.
The museum is particularly famous for its exhibition of dinosaur skeletons and ornate architecture sometimes dubbed a cathedral of nature , both exemplified by the large Diplodocus cast which dominates the vaulted central hall. The Natural History Museum Library contains extensive books, journals, manuscripts, and artwork collections linked to the work and research of the scientific departments; access to the library is by appointment only.
In 1864 a competition was held to design a new museum in South Kensington.
Work began in 1873 and was completed in 1880. The new museum opened in 1881, although the move in was not fully completed until 1883.
Both the interiors and exteriors of the building make extensive use of terracotta tiles to resist the sooty climate of Victorian London. The tiles and bricks feature many relief sculptures of flora and fauna, with living and extinct species featured within the west and east wings respectively.
2014 London: Natural History Museum #54
The Natural History Museum in London is a museum exhibiting a vast range of specimens from various segments of natural history.
The museum is home to life and earth science specimens comprising some 80 million items within five main collections: botany, entomology, mineralogy, palaeontology and zoology.
The museum is a world-renowned centre of research specialising in taxonomy, identification and conservation. Given the age of the institution, many of the collections have great historical as well as scientific value, such as specimens collected by Charles Darwin.
The museum is particularly famous for its exhibition of dinosaur skeletons and ornate architecture sometimes dubbed a cathedral of nature , both exemplified by the large Diplodocus cast which dominates the vaulted central hall. The Natural History Museum Library contains extensive books, journals, manuscripts, and artwork collections linked to the work and research of the scientific departments; access to the library is by appointment only.
In 1864 a competition was held to design a new museum in South Kensington.
Work began in 1873 and was completed in 1880. The new museum opened in 1881, although the move in was not fully completed until 1883.
Both the interiors and exteriors of the building make extensive use of terracotta tiles to resist the sooty climate of Victorian London. The tiles and bricks feature many relief sculptures of flora and fauna, with living and extinct species featured within the west and east wings respectively.