Family Activity

As part of a £3 million Urban Nature Project, Natural History Museum transformed their gardens into two prehistoric gardens.

@urbanadventurerldn

🌿🦕[BLOG POST IN BIO] Natural History Museum transformed their gardens into prehistoric gardens The gardens feature: 🦕 A 22m-long and 4m-high bronze Diplodocus skeleton 🧬 An Evolution Garden that transports visitors 2.7 billion years back in time 🐚 An ammonite pavement 🔬 A living laboratory …and much more! @Natural History Museum London #naturalhistorymuseum #dinosaurs #jurassic #jurassicpark #fossils #familydayout #dayoutwithkids #londonlife #londonadventures #CapCut

♬ At Jurassic World’s End Credits / Suite – Michael Giacchino

Connect, Learn and Cherish the Nature

Photo: Urban Adventurer

Natural History Museum has rebuilt its five acres garden for the first time in 140 years to open an urban oasis in the heart of the city where people can connect, learn and cherish the nature.

The large green space features a Jurassic Garden with a 22m-long and 4m-high bronze Diplodocus skeleton, an Evolution Garden that transports visitors 2.7 billion years back in time, an ammonite pavement, a living laboratory and much more!

There are two gardens for visitors to enjoy: The Evolution Garden and the Nature Discovery Garden.

The Evolution Garden

Photo: Urban Adventurer

Visitors entering the garden from the Exhibition Road exit from South Kensington Station will find themselves deep in a canyon of two robust ancient stones. The two heavy rocks have been built using blocks collected from all over the UK.

Photo: Urban Adventurer

The canyon guides visitors through the evolution of life starting 2.7 billion years ago and frames the view of a prehistoric forest with its magnificent species flourished millions of years ago.

“You travel 5 million years every metre.” – says Dr Paul Kendrick, lead scientist of The Evolution Garden.

While walking, make sure you keep your eyes open because there are many things to discover on the walls of the rocks, among the ferns and even under your feet.

Photo: Urban Adventurer

The interactive garden allows visitors to learn interesting facts about ancient plants and animals and touch footprints, Trilobite shells or the columns of prehistoric trees once inhabited our planet.

Further down there is the main attraction of the garden: a life-size bronze skeleton of ‘Fern’ the Diplodocus.

‘Fern’ is a replica of Natural History Museum’s famous ‘Dippy’ who used to stand in the main hall of the museum. ‘Fern’ is more anatomically accurate thanks to the advance technology and skilled 3D artists, engineers and modellers. Plus, ‘Fern’ is made from bronze, which is weatherproof, so he can tower above the us in the garden without getting damaged by the weather.

Photo: Urban Adventurer

There are other, smaller skeletons, bronze dinosaur skulls, fossils and footprints to discover all over the garden leading visitors to the dawn of human civilisation and the modern world.

Nature Discovery Garden

Nature Discovery Garden is showcasing the biodiversity that can be found all over the UK’s urban spaces today.

In this garden, visitors can explore how nature thrive in wetlands, woodlands, grasslands, and in modern urban spaces in present day.

Nature Discovery Garden is dotted around scientific sensors to gather environmental DNA and acoustic data (bird singing, bats, traffic noise etc.) to understand and protect urban nature, making the garden the most intensively studied urban sites of its kind.

The data collected is curated and processed with Natural History Museum’s new Data Ecosystem to help support the UK’s urban nature recovery and sustainability.

Guided Tours and Summer Family Activities

Photo: Urban Adventurer

Visitors can explore the new gardens on their own, but they can participate in an immersive 1hr guided tour to learn more about our evolutionary history by following the footsteps of the past.

Tickets can be booked here.

Throughout the Summer holiday the museum is running a bunch of fun family activities, including nature-themed arts and crafts, pond explore tours, family nature talks, ‘meet the scientist’ events and much more.

And the best part is, most of the activities are free!

Discover all the available Summer family activities here.  

Natural History Museum’s new interactive gardens provide a perfect space for families to explore, socialise, play, and relax while enjoying the beauty of the nature and nurture their curiosity.

The Nature Activity Centre and the Garden Kitchen will open later in 2024.

Ready for your next adventure?  Now that you walked through the evolution timeline on Earth, embark on an epic journey to our closest celestial neighbour: the Moon. Learn about the Apollo Mission and experience the Moon landing during an immersive 360 degree experience. The Moonwalkers immersive experience is open until 13 October 2024.