Home

Museum of Natural History Advent Calendar 2018

Peek through the windows of the Museum each day for our natural history themed countdown to Christmas.

Special exhibition

19 October 2018 - 28 May 2019

Imagining lost worlds

Illustration student Rachel Simpson teamed up with our research fellow Jack Matthews to ‘bring the oldest multi-cellular organisms back to life’. Here's what she created...

A selection of some of the most important specimens and displays in the Museum, chosen by our collections managers

The Museum is open every day from 10am to 5pm.
Closed on Christmas Eve, Christmas Day and Boxing Day.
Entry is free, including to temporary exhibitions.

Oxford University Museum of Natural History was founded in 1860, and today it holds an internationally-significant collection of natural history specimens and archives. Housed in a stunning neo-Gothic building inspired by the Pre-Raphaelites, the Museum is home to a lively programme of research, teaching and public events.

Things to see and do

Take a look at our quick guide to visiting the Museum

Audio guides

Listen to audio commentary of Museum highlights in nine different languages

Museum highlights

Find out more about the Museum's most important objects

Research at the Museum

Our research spans four main themes: animal origins, arthropod evolution, digital morphology, and heritage, society and culture

Highlight object: the Oxford Dodo

Extinct, flightless, and iconic, the dodo is the world's most famous extinct bird; the remains kept here are one of our greatest treasures

Swifts in the Museum tower

Every year, swifts return to the UK after their long migration from Africa; for years, the Museum tower has been a favourite nesting site, and our live camera reveals the nesting birds inside

Search form

Imagining lost worlds

What's on

Bats: The Mystery Beings

Shout Out for Women in Science

Architecture tours

Café Scientifique