London - Natural History Museum

The original nucleus of The Natural History Museum, which was founded in 1754 and moved into its present building in 1881, was formed by the scientific collections of Sir Hans Sloane. The Museum is a palatial building in Romanesque style (designed by Alfred Waterhouse 1873-80), 230m/675ft long, with two 64m/190ft high towers. The exterior is faced with terracotta slabs bearing relief figures of animals. Since 1988 The Natural History Museum has been linked to the Geological Museum on Exhibition Road.

The admission charge covers both museums.

The original collections of Sir Hans Sloane, comprising 50,000 books, 10,000 preserved animals and 334 volumes of pressed plant species, were augmented over the years by thousands of new exhibits. Joseph Banks, who accompanied James Cook around the world, was a particularly keen collector; the artist Sydney Parkinson donated three volumes of his zoological drawings and 18 volumes of botanical watercolor studies. Charles Darwin also donated many specimens from his expeditions. Nowadays there are over half-a-million new acquisitions a year.

London's Natural History Museum has been transformed from a Geological Museum into three floors containing six permanent exhibitions that bring to life the history of the planet Earth. The new Earth Galleries examine many aspects of the earth's history and features such as meteorites, volcanic erruptions, tidal waves and other natural phenomena.