Museum of Natural History
University of Oxford

Touchable minerals are back!

Along with some new specimens, the touchable minerals have returned, displayed on new, contemporary plinths in the Museum's main court.

New interactive display

The Prehistoric Diver

Step inside and dive back in time to the worlds of the Cambrian and Jurassic seas.

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34 Critical Raw Materials

17 June 2026 – 13 April 2027. We hear about critical raw materials almost every day in our news feeds, but how do they actually fit into our lives? What are they? Why do we need them? Where do we get them from? And how will we get them in the future?

Read the diary

Swift diary 2026

Monday 20 July

It was a busy morning in the tower with many birds needing ringing. The chicks are developing fast and another 9 chicks have fledged in the last week and are now on their long journey back to Africa.

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Learn about swifts

The colony of swifts which nest in the Museum has been the subject of a research study since May 1948. It is one of the longest continuous studies of a single bird species in the world, and has contributed much to our knowledge of the swift.

Buy the book

Swifts in a Tower

First published in 1956, Swifts in a Tower is a classic study of one of Britain’s most fascinating birds. This updated edition includes a new chapter by Andrew Lack, incorporating modern research and discoveries that reveal even more about the remarkable life of the swift. Published in association with the Royal Society for the Protection of Birds’s Oxford Swift City Project, it’s an essential read for bird lovers and naturalists alike.

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Obligate Brood Parasites: The Common Cuckoo

Several groups of birds around the world are obligate brood parasites, but the Common Cuckoo (Cuculus canorus) is the only one that lives in the UK. Obligate brood parasites lay their eggs in the nests of other birds, having lost the ability to build nests and incubate eggs themselves. They then rely on the host bird to raise their chicks. But how do they get away with this?

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Palaeontology

Our palaeontology collections include one of the world’s most important collections of Middle Jurassic dinosaurs; exceptionally preserved specimens with intact soft tissues; and enigmatic fossils representing the earliest complex multicellular organisms. It features around 400,000 fossils, ranging from the Archean, ~2.7 billion years ago, to the end of the Pleistocene, 11,700 years ago.

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Trilobite Wall

The oceans were once filled with trilobites, ancient animals that are some of the first creatures with hard parts found in the fossil record. A giant slab of rock preserves a natural gathering of three types of trilobite, as well as many brittle stars.

Greenland, with brown rock in background and small iceberg in the foreground.

Discover our research

Research

Oxford University Museum of Natural History has been a centre of world-leading research and scientific debate since it opened in 1860.

Henry Taunt's interior view of the museum, 1870

Find out about our history

History

The Museum building is as spectacular today as when it opened in 1860. Learn more about the world's first purpose-built natural history museum.

A display of numerous insects with labels

About our collections

Collections

The Museum has over seven million historical and modern specimens encompassing the natural world.

Learn with us

Learn

The Museum offers a range of learning experiences for different audiences through online activities, in-museum sessions, and self-guided visits.

A group of musicians playing in the main court of the museum

Enquiries

Venue Hire

Set in the heart of a historic university city, Oxford University Museum of Natural History provides an inspiring backdrop for a wide range of private events. This characterful neogothic building dates back to the 1850s and is home to over seven million natural history specimens.