Natural History Museum facts for kids
The architect was Alfred Waterhouse
The Natural History Museum (often called the NHM) is a super cool museum in London, England. It's the biggest natural history museum in Britain. This museum holds huge collections of things like fossils, rocks, and minerals. It also has millions of preserved plants and animals.
Scientists work here, doing research and looking after all the amazing specimens. The museum also has public galleries where you can explore and learn. The NHM is one of four big places on Exhibition Road in South Kensington, London. The others are the Science Museum, the Victoria and Albert Museum, and Imperial College London.
A Quick Look at History
The Natural History Museum started as part of the famous British Museum. When its current building opened in 1881, it was called the British Museum (Natural History). It wasn't fully independent until 1963. That's when it got its own group of people to run it. In 1992, it was finally allowed to use its current name: the Natural History Museum.
In 1986, the museum took over the Geological Museum. This museum was right next door and focused on rocks and the Earth. The galleries were completely updated in 1996. The new Earth Galleries showed off things about our planet. The original Waterhouse building then focused on The Life Galleries, showing plants and animals. The museum's old Mineralogy displays are still there. They show how museums used to display things in the 1800s.
The Darwin Centre
The Darwin Centre is a big new part of the museum. It's named after Charles Darwin, a famous scientist. This centre is home to millions of preserved specimens. It also provides new places for the museum's scientists to work. It was built in two stages, next to the main Waterhouse building. This project is one of the most important new additions to the museum's history.
Amazing Scientific Work
The museum has about 300 scientists working there. They look after huge collections of fossils, rocks, and minerals. They also care for preserved plants and animals from today. There are over 70 million specimens in total! The museum is also creating computer databases to keep track of all these incredible collections.
See also
In Spanish: Museo de Historia Natural para niños
