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Natural History Museum’s transformed gardens to open on 18 July
Name of newly installed bronze 'Dippy' cast will be revealed during the opening
Five-acres of green space – featuring a Jurassic garden, living laboratory and evolution timeline – will open to visitors at the Natural History Museum in London on 18 July as part of its £3m Urban Nature Project.
The free outdoor spaces aim to showcase 2.7 billion years of history through plants, geology, and representations of reptiles, birds and mammals.
One highlight for many will be a new bronze cast of Dippy. The Diplodocus has already been installed in the Jurassic garden, surrounded by flora such as Wollemi pines, dwarf ginkgos and cycads to evoke the feel of a landscape in the Jurassic Period, but its final look and new name will be revealed as part of opening events in July.
Elsewhere, the Nature Discovery Garden will showcase different biodiversity that can be found in the UK’s urban spaces. And an Evolution Timeline – a canyon clad in ancient stone collected from across the UK – will be situated by the Exhibition Road entrance to the museum.
The gardens will also host a new “living laboratory”, with scientific sensors gathering environmental DNA and acoustic data to help scientists monitor, understand and protect urban nature.
“This is the first time in 140 years that the gardens around our building have been completely transformed,” said Alex Burch, the museum’s director of public programmes.
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“The five acres of gardens provide a wildlife haven in the heart of London. They will be the perfect setting for people to connect with, learn about and cherish the nature to be found in our towns and cities.”
Free tickets to visit the gardens are available until 31 December 2024.
The Urban Nature Project is funded by a National Lottery Heritage Fund grant of £3.23m. The gardens have also received funding from Amazon Web Services, Evolution Education Trust, the Cadogan Charity, Garfield Weston Foundation, Kusuma Trust, the Wolfson Foundation, Charles Wilson and Rowena Olegario, Royal Commission for the Exhibition of 1851, Clore Duffield Foundation, Workman LLP and Accenture.