Natural History Museum (London): history of creation, zones, exhibits

2024 Author: Harold Hamphrey | [email protected]. Last modified: 2023-12-17 10:06

One of the most famous museums in the world, where you can get acquainted with the evolution of life on the planet thanks to unique curiosities collected from all over the world and different historical eras, is located in the capital of Great Britain.

The Natural History Museum (London), whose photo is presented in the article, stores more than 70 million exhibits, and most of them were collected by Sir G. Sloan. The local collections are so unique that they are of exceptional interest not only to idle visitors, but also to scientists from all over the world.

Natural History Museum (London): history of creation

It is impossible to ignore the person who laid the foundation for a unique museum. From an early age, Hans Sloan, fascinated by history, collected all the rarities, and his extensive collection of animal and human skeletons, as well as herbariums, made up the bulk of the exhibits.

After he entered the Royal Society, and later headed it, the famous scientist traveled to various countries, where he studied and described plants that were not found in England. It was he who inventedchocolate, having brought cocoa beans from Jamaica.

New premises

When the British Parliament accepted the collections of the naturalist Sloan, it was decided to establish a public museum of natural history, which would enjoy great prestige in the scientific community. The exhibits of the scientist were stored in unsuitable conditions, so in 1850 the question arose of a separate room for them.

For a long time, Sloan's legacy was in the British Museum, and after 31 years it was moved to a separate building, which opened its doors to the general public. It is a real example of architecture built in the Romano-Byzantine style.

In 1963, the Natural History Museum (London), which began organizing scientific expeditions of specialists to various parts of the globe, officially separated from the general collection of the oldest British public organization.

Central Hall

The huge vault, located on Cromwell Road, has a huge number of exhibits of representatives of the animal world. For the convenience of visitors, the Natural History Museum (London) is divided into four zones, differing in color and content, and the rarities on display are clearly distributed by origin.

From the main hall, which is considered the heart of the museum, all tours of the four themed halls begin, and its true decoration is a giant copy of a diplodocus - a 26-meter dinosaur with a huge neck, often appearing in science fiction films.

Seated on the central staircasea sculpture of Charles Darwin, a famous naturalist, whose exhibited works and manuscripts are reverent at the Natural History Museum (London). The history of human evolution, written by a scientist, causes a lot of controversy, and both supporters of the famous naturalist and his opponents come here.

Blue Zone

The blue zone is dedicated to dinosaurs, amphibians and all the inhabitants of the watery depths of the prehistoric era. Visitors adore this hall with interactive exhibits that move and scream intimidatingly. Of particular delight is the figure of the most vicious predator - a tyrannosaurus rex, not just making sounds, but scraping the floor with huge claws and clicking its fangs in the twilight of the hall. The Natural History Museum (London) became world famous thanks to its paleontological collection.

In addition, the figure of the blue whale, considered the largest animal in the world, is of particular interest: its length reaches 30 meters.

Green Zone

The most beautiful zone is Green, reminiscent of the colorful tropics, in which birds, plants and insects are represented. Here visitors get acquainted with all the birds of the world, both living and extinct.

The posted posters of this zone and the videos broadcast on the screens warn that without care for the environment and the preservation of the green environment, the planet is threatened with extinction.

Red Zone

The Red Hall will surprise you with unusual effects. The guests get acquainted with the ongoing processes in the bowels of our planet. Here you can get into the zonethe epicenter of an earthquake and volcanic eruption, learn how tsunamis and other equally interesting phenomena are born, and experience the horror of a natural disaster.

Young visitors are attracted by collections of meteorites and shards of stellar bodies, while older people freeze at stands with precious stones and natural crystals, the total number of which exceeds 500 thousand.

Orange zone

Exhibits in the Orange Wildlife Zone are insects and plants. There is also a new hall here - the Darwin Center, where you can see several million living organisms stored in alcohol.

Library Fund

Natural History Museum (London) is known not only for unique exhibits, but also for the world's largest library collection, numbering about one million rare prints.

Priceless exhibits

Unique specimens collected over 400 years help to present the history of human existence from the beginning of the solar system to the present day.

The unique Museum of Natural History (London), whose expositions reveal many secrets of nature, leaves no one indifferent. A visit to a huge palace built to explore natural history will be one of the most memorable experiences. Adults, along with children, are immersed in a wonderful world that leaves only unforgettable emotions and impressions.