Natural History Museum

Housed in a Victorian cathedral to the natural world, this colossal collection gives you a fantastic insight into the world around us. Don’t miss the Life Galleries with animatronic dinosaurs, the Mammals Gallery with a life-sized model of a Blue Whale and the Creepy-Crawlies, ever popular with kids. You can even experience the terrifying effects of an earthquake in the museum’s earthquake simulator.

Don’t miss the latest addition to museum – the state-of-the-art Darwin Centre, a high-tech science and collections facility. The displays here are interactive and animated using the entire surface of the spectacular building. Specimens collected by Charles Darwin on his original Beagle voyage - where he first developed the theory of evolution - are among the zoological treasures on display.

In the Darwin Centre Tank Room you can see the giant squid, Architeuthis dux, nicknamed 'Archie'. The squid is 8.62 metres long and was caught off the coast of the Falklands Islands in 2004. The giant squid is the second largest living invertebrate, and has eyes the size of footballs, a powerful beak, thick tentacles and dangerous-looking teeth-filled suckers.

Check the Natural History Museum website for details of temporary exhibitions, lectures, special night openings and behind-the-scenes tours.