Nature and Us

Closed to the public since 1943, this former working herbarium reopens as a free gallery of 50 objects — from decades-old specimens to millennia-old fossils — telling the story of how humans have understood and used the natural world. It's part of a wider transformation of the museum ahead of its 150th anniversary, so expect it to keep evolving.

A good pick if you want a slice of the Natural History Museum without the queues for the dinosaur hall — it's a smaller, quieter space that rewards a proper look rather than a rush-through.