Over 5 Million Visitors to Natural History Museum Gardens in First Year

Landmark green space in the heart of London marks impressive first anniversary

Since their transformation and reopening in July 2024, the Natural History Museum’s gardens have welcomed over five million visitors in just 12 months, cementing their place as one of central London’s most celebrated new green spaces.

Spanning five acres around the Museum’s iconic South Kensington building, the reimagined gardens are now home to two outdoor living galleries, the Evolution Garden and the Nature Discovery Garden, supported by the Cadogan Charity. Together, they offer immersive experiences that blend nature, learning and scientific research.

Highlights include Fern, a striking bronze cast of the Museum’s beloved diplodocus, which greets visitors as they explore 540 million years of life on Earth.

The Nature Discovery Garden serves as a unique research hub, where the Museum’s 400 scientists are working on urgent ecological challenges. Biodiversity data is gathered through monitoring techniques such as environmental DNA, acoustic recordings, and visual observations, all fed into a pioneering Data Ecosystem developed in collaboration with Amazon Web Services (AWS).

To celebrate the first anniversary, the Museum hosted a bioblitz on Monday 28 July, inviting the public to explore the gardens, identify local wildlife, and take part in real scientific research. Visitors used microscopes, pond dipping kits and hand lenses to help catalogue urban biodiversity, gaining a unique insight into the city’s natural world through the lens of Museum scientists.

Dr Doug Gurr, Director of the Natural History Museum, said: “We could not be more delighted with the success of our gardens which have helped connect millions of people directly to nature and are already providing critical scientific data to aid our understanding of how to support urban wildlife. The Museum’s gardens are open year-round and are free to visit.”

A landmark year in numbers:

- 5,050,000 visitors to the gardens since July 2024

- Visitor numbers to the Museum were boosted by 20.9% from July (when the gardens opened) to December 2024, an increase of 537,000 people

- 96,954 people engaged via the Nature Overheard Community Science Programme, studying how noise pollution affects insects

- 40,000+ people participated in family garden activities, exceeding targets by 100%

- 13 partners in 4 countries delivering new Science, Technology, Engineering, and Mathematics (STEM) learning programmes

- 11,000+ downloads of new learning resources

- Partnerships strengthened with 300+ schools and community groups

- 20,000+ pupils involved in and 1,000 teachers trained through the Explore: Urban Nature programme in partnership with the Garfield Weston Foundation nationwide, a three-year education initiative targeting areas of low nature connectedness, through partnerships with 13 museums and nature organisations across the UK

- 9,000+ page views and 3,500+ downloads on the Nature Recording Hub

- 897 members joined the Urban Nature Network, with 365 participants from over 50 organisations, making urban biological recording more accessible

- 94% of Evolution Garden and 95% of Nature Discovery Garden visitors rated them Good or Excellent

The Museum gardens is the first step in the NHM150 campaign in time for its 150th anniversary in 2031, transforming its South Kensington site: placing groundbreaking research at its heart, revitalising four existing galleries, opening two new magnificent galleries and delighting 1 million more visitors a year with the wonders of the natural world.

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Natural History Museum Press Office

Tel: +44 (0)20 7942 5654 / 07799690151

Email: press@nhm.ac.uk

About The Natural History Museum

The Natural History Museum is a world-leading scientific research centre and one of the world’s most visited museums. Our mission is to create advocates for the planet – people who act for nature.

Our 400 scientists are finding solutions to the planetary emergency - from reversing biodiversity loss to resourcing the green economy.

We are seeking an additional £150 million to transform our South Kensington building: placing our groundbreaking research at its heart, revitalising four existing galleries, opening two new magnificent galleries and delighting 1 million more visitors a year with the wonders of the natural world