Natural History Museum to open first permanent gallery in nine years

Opening on 3rd April, Fixing Our Broken Planet will bring together research from the museum’s scientists with advice from environmentalists on how to better care for the planet and its future. It will be accompanied by a programme of events exploring the challenges facing Earth and that encourages people to make positive change. 

School groups will be able to explore the gallery and come face-to-face with more than 250 specimens including a Sumatran rhinoceros, parasitic worms and whale’s earwax.

Research on display will show how fungi is used to fertilise crops, how bacteria can be harnessed to extract copper from mine waste, and how bison are helping to engineer forests in the UK to store more carbon. Pupils can also learn how vital DNA analysis on mosquitoes is being used to fight mosquito-born diseases, such as malaria.     

Museum director, Dr Doug Gurr, said: “Our scientists have been working to find solutions for and from nature. Fixing Our Broken Planet places this research at the heart of the museum, allowing us to offer positive ways in which our visitors can act for the planet.”

The new gallery is part of a project to transform the venue for its 150th anniversary in 2031. Plans include raising £150 million which will also see the scheduled opening of a second new gallery in 2027 and four existing galleries restored and updated.

More highlights for schools to look out for during a visit to the Natural History Museum include the Dinosaurs gallery, housing part of the first Tyrannosaurus Rex skeleton ever discovered and the skull of a Triceratops. The skeleton of a blue whale named Hope, is suspended from the ceiling of Hintze Hall, taking centre stage for visitors.

You can also see more than 23 million things stored in alcohol in the Spirit Collection, including specimens collected by Captain James Cook, a giant squid and Charles Darwin’s pet octopus.

School visits to the Natural History Museum

There are a range of curriculum-linked workshops and shows, as well as galleries to explore. Guided by learning facilitators, available workshops include Minibeast Hunt and Pond Dipping in the Nature Discovery Garden, Evolution Workshops for Year 6 and Biodiversity in Action for Key Stages 2 and 3.

Self-led visits are also available and provide an opportunity for pupils to explore the museum’s galleries, including the Fixing Our Broken Planet gallery, to discover over 4.5 billion years of natural history. School visits must be booked at least three weeks in advance.

For school groups travelling by coach, the drop-off point is outside the main entrance on Cromwell Road.