Visiting the Natural History Museum is free. Book a ticket before your visit for the best experience, especially during our busy times. We do reserve space for walk-up visitors, but you may have to wait longer to get in. Roaming the galleries and gardens …

Our closest ancient human relatives. Neanderthals were humans like us, but they were a distinct species called Homo neanderthalensis.. Read Chris Stringer's argument for why Neanderthals should be considered a separate species from Homo sapiens >. Together with an Asian people known as Denisovans, Neanderthals are our closest ancient human relatives.

Lived: from between one million and 500,000 years ago to present Where: emerged in Africa but is now found all over the world Appearance: rounded and high braincase, small face and upright stance Brain size: about 1,330cm 3 Height: about 1.4–1.8m with females generally shorter than males Weight: about 55–90kg with females generally lighter than males

Charles Robert Darwin (1809-1882) transformed the way we understand the natural world with ideas that, in his day, were nothing short of revolutionary. He and his fellow pioneers in the field of biology gave us insight into the fantastic diversity of life …

The word Anthropocene comes from the Greek terms for human ('anthropo') and new ('cene'), but its definition is controversial. It was coined in the 1980s, then popularised in 2000 by atmospheric chemist Paul J Crutzen and diatom researcher Eugene F Stoermer.

Book tickets. Explore our galleries, science, news, videos and amazing images. South Kensington Tube. London, UK.

Charles Darwin (1809-1882) and Alfred Russel Wallace (1823-1913) are jointly credited with coming up with the theory of evolution by natural selection, having co-published on it in 1858. Darwin has generally overshadowed Wallace since the publication of On the Origin of Species in 1859, however.

Homo erectus facts . Lived: from about two million years ago until at least 250,000 years ago Where: Africa, Asia and perhaps Europe Appearance: human-like body proportions and upright stance, a protruding brow ridge, large face and no chin Brain size: about 550-1,250cm 3 Height: about 1.4-1.8m Weight: about 41-65kg Diet: meat (initially from scavenging but later potentially …

A cathedral to nature. While the building reflects Waterhouse’s characteristic architectural style, it is also a monument to Owen’s vision of what a museum should be.. In the mid-nineteenth century, museums were expensive places visited only by the wealthy few, but Owen insisted the Natural History Museum should be free and be accessible to all.

Discover dinosaur news, videos, quizzes and crafts. Find out facts about dinosaurs, including Diplodocus and Stegosaurus, and uncover what science is revealing about the appearance and lives of these prehistoric animals.