Natural History Museum Favourite Exhibit?

LeeMac13

LeeMac13

Well-Known Member
Slightly off topic in terms of a zoo but wondered what was everybody favourite exhibit at NHM? I was really impressed by there dinosaur exhibits. As well as the vast collection of animals and fossils. Noticed that the majority of animals etc had signs saying that they were older specimens which were slightly worn but the Museum didnt want to replace them to avoid species being killed etc is this now common practice?
 
The excellent Natural History Section at the Edinburgh Museum ( National Museum of Scotland ? ) has quite a few new specimens which are deceased Zoo inhabitants . Andrew Kitchener , who I think is Curator , has close links with the Zoo Community .
Doubt if they will be able to obtain any new Dinosaurs from this source though !
 
I love the Natural History museum and find it very difficult to choose a favourite exhibit. Oxfords Natural History Museum is also worth a visit if you have a couple of free hours
 
My favourite exhibit at the Natural History Museum is the Ungulate Gallery in the old Whale Hall.
(I also used to especially like both the Rowland Ward Gallery and the old Ice Age Mammal Gallery, both sadly gone.)

I agree with Bele and Ajkwba about the museums in Edinburgh and Oxford respectively.

As Bele says, the Edinburgh Museum has some interesting ex-zoo specimens including one of the three London Zoo quaggas (the long-lived female quagga that died in 1872). Unfortunately, though, on my last visit to Edinburgh in May 2009 the zoological galleries were closed.

Without doubt, my favourite UK museum is the Zoological Museum at Tring, in Hertfordshire; a visit is thoroughly recommended to anybody who likes old-fashioned museums with huge collections.
 
I also really enjoyed the animal gallerys especially the really long ones filled with different birds and animals. Im definetly going to look into visting the other museums as you recomended. Just wondered if anybody had visited World Museum Liverpool and what you thought of it?
 
Tim May said:
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As Bele says, the Edinburgh Museum has some interesting ex-zoo specimens including one of the three London Zoo quaggas (the long-lived female quagga that died in 1872).
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I believe Edinburgh Museum also have one or more Gorillas from Jersey including the famous male 'Jambo.' Do you know the sources of any other ex- zoo specimens they have?

I'm also wondering if the Sumatran orangutan male 'Mickey' is still on display, together with one of the females(+baby) that was kept at Edinburgh Zoo? (They represented the first breeding in the UK for Orangutan).
 
I like the corridor with the walls of huge prehistoric sea animal fossils
 
Its seasonal and I'm off to see the new one very soon, but the wildlife photographer of the year exhibit is always fabulous. Such amazing pictures! I can't wait to get to the latest one!
 
LeeMac13 said:
I also really enjoyed the animal gallerys especially the really long ones filled with different birds and animals. Im definetly going to look into visting the other museums as you recomended.
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On the subject of zoological museums, the Powell-Cotton Museum at Quex House, Birchington, Kent, is also thoroughly recommended and well-worth visiting. This museum has some very impressive dioramas; the ones featuring African antelopes are especially fine.

Before making a long journey to the Powell-Cotton Museum, it is advisable to check the opening hours as it does not open every day.

(Incidentally, this museum’s founder, Powell-Cotton, donated the type specimen of Northern white rhinoceros to the British Museum (Natural History); it was given the sub-specific name cottoni in his honour.)
 
The best exhibits in the Natural History Museum in London have to be the Cetaceans and Dinosaurs. Every time I walk in the doors and see the Diplodicus I go back to being 8 years old lol!
 
I've been lucky enough to stand in the entrance hall of the NHM with no one else; fantastic. :) As for best gallery, it's probably the entirety of the mammals area.
 
my favorite museum in the uk is tring! such an amazing collection and i loved reading about walter rothschilds private collection of animals.
im a member of NHM and recently went and saw the photographer of the year exhibit and it does not dissapoint, there are some amazing photographs in there particuarly the springtail on a snowflake!
stu
 
I think the best exhibits have to be authentic and they have to stimulate the imagination. At the BMNH, two stick in my mind.
The first is the original Archaeopteryx fossil, which was put on display for a short time 20 years ago - to disprove the ridiculous book by Fred Hoyle and Chandra Wickramasinghe which claimed that it was a forgery. It was amazing to see the actual fossil rather than the cast which is usually on display - it's probably the most valuable fossil ever found and 150 years ago it was the most expensive one too.
The other is the old cross section of a giant redwood, which used to hang beside the staircase directly above the main door (I hope it's still there). It has labels on the rings marking significant dates in the past 3000 years (I may have misremembered the exact number). Very simple - but it made me think harder than anything else there.

Alan
 
Oxford natural history musuem is well worth a visit, also with a human musuem connected called the pit rivers museum (which include a variety of exhibits from the freaky shrunken heads to mummies etc).

in the natural history bit there is a wide variety of species from dodo's, hyenas, elephants and triceratops's skull. There is also a goelogical area with a variety of minerals and rock types. there is a fantastic bird section and invertebrate area. I really enjoyed the touch areas including a cheetahs and a variety of british wildlife - its really nice to know what a cheetah's fur feels like.
 
foz said:
Oxford natural history musuem is well worth a visit, also with a human musuem connected called the pit rivers museum (which include a variety of exhibits from the freaky shrunken heads to mummies etc).
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The Pitts Rivers was rather creepy, with the treatment of death section :eek:
 
Pertinax said:
I believe Edinburgh Museum also have one or more Gorillas from Jersey including the famous male 'Jambo.' Do you know the sources of any other ex- zoo specimens they have?

I'm also wondering if the Sumatran orangutan male 'Mickey' is still on display, together with one of the females(+baby) that was kept at Edinburgh Zoo? (They represented the first breeding in the UK for Orangutan).
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Sorry, Pertinax, for the delay in responding to this post.

To my great disappointment the main zoology galleries, which I used to like very much, were closed on my visit to the Edinburgh Museum last year and only a handful of zoological specimens were exhibited.

As you mentioned, this museum contains a number of ex-zoo great apes, although I did not see these on my last visit.

The Edinburgh Museum quagga is one of the three London Zoo quaggas. This specimen is the quagga mare that the ZSL purchased in 1851 from the well known animal dealer Jamrach; she died in 1872 and holds the longevity record for a zoo quagga. This is the quagga that features in the London Zoo photographs.

I have heard that the mounted hippopotamus in Edinburgh is another ex-London Zoo animal ‘Adhelia’ (who was at Regent’s Park from 1854 to 1882 and the mother of the famous hippo ‘Guy Fawkes’). I'm not certain, though, that this is true; perhaps somebody else can confirm?

The ex-London Zoo giant panda ‘Ching Ching’ is also in the Edinburgh Museum; this is one of the few zoological specimens actually on display on my last visit.
 
i was lucky enough to stand in the main hall all alone on sunday... was amazing to see dippy one side and darwin looking over the hall at the other!
it was great to stand there without hundreds of people crowding around:D
stu
 
stubeanz said:
i was lucky enough to stand in the main hall all alone on sunday... was amazing to see dippy one side and darwin looking over the hall at the other!
it was great to stand there without hundreds of people crowding around:D
stu
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Same here! You really feel the atmosphere. :D
 
Tim May said:
To my great disappointment the main zoology galleries, which I used to like very much, were closed on my visit to the Edinburgh Museum last year and only a handful of zoological specimens were exhibited.
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Given that six years have passed since this post, you will no doubt already be aware that these are now once again open, with significantly more zoological specimens on-display than prior to the closure :) found this post due to discussing the National Museum of Scotland in this thread.
 
TeaLovingDave said:
Given that six years have passed since this post, you will no doubt already be aware that these are now once again open, with significantly more zoological specimens on-display than prior to the closure :) found this post due to discussing the National Museum of Scotland in this thread.
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Indeed, I was aware that the zoology galleries had re-opened after refurbishment and I returned to the museum to see them for myself.

I was impressed by the changes which, I think, were very well done. I was actually pleasantly surprised by the refurbished galleries in Edinburgh as, generally speaking, I prefer old-fashioned zoology museums and normally find such changes rather disappointing as they so often result in fewer specimens on show. Fortunately that wasn’t the case here and I like the new displays very much.
 
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