Science Uncovered

The Natural History Museum is opening its doors and giving you exclusive access to its world-class scientists and rarely-seen parts of its Collections for a night. Science Uncovered is your chance to discover little-known areas of the Museum, hear about our latest research and enjoy a drink under the watchful eyes of Dippy the Diplodocus.

For many visitors, meeting Museum scientists is one of the most surprising highlights of the evening. Our researchers normally work behind the scenes, tackling issues of global importance from malaria and food security, to species and habitat loss. Science Uncovered involves over 300 scientists from across the Museum and from other leading organisations.

Discover what goes on beyond the galleries at this world-renowned centre of research, learn more about the life of a scientist and delve into the wonders of the natural world and our solar system. You can get involved in more than 200 different activities on the night, from Science Bars and nature games to debates with our scientists. The evening is also a chance to see some of the extraordinary specimens from the Museum’s collections not normally on display.

This year, get up close with these aspects of our research and collections, and many others:

Meet our ancestors – handle casts of some of the most important specimens that have helped us piece together the extended family tree of modern humans.

Bring your own specimens – Have you found a strange-looking beetle or an unusual rock? Bring it along on the night – experts from the Museum’s Angela Marmont Centre for UK Biodiversity will be on hand to help you identify what you have discovered.

Visit the ocean floor – use microscopes to explore the bizarre biology of boiling hydrothermal vents, where life thrives in some of the most hostile environments we know.

Whale of a time – marvel at the remains of some of the whales that have become stranded around the UK coast in the past centuries, including the skull of the pilot whale stranded in Essex that made headlines last year.

Have an enlightening drink – join our scientists at three Science Bars across the Museum to discuss some of the most pressing questions in science, including how to cope with a growing population and whether we should focus on exploring other planets or look for answers here on Earth.

Make your own art – see how our collections inspire the work of our artist-in-residence Beatrice von Preussen and take away your own print.

Join the debate – scientists will debate the benefits and risks of cutting-edge scientific issues.

Come face to face with parasites – see some of the Museum’s collection of tapeworms, including one over 6 metres long – longer than a luxury car. Discover the life cycles of parasitic worms, and see examples of ones that might infest hedgehogs or birds in your back garden.

Witness the fight against neglected tropical diseases – Ebola is not the only disease scientists are working to eradicate in Africa. Many tropical diseases, such as guinea worm disease and schistosomiasis, claim thousands of lives every year and we are still learning how to combat many of them.