The fascinating
Grant Museum of Zoology opens in a new location in March 2011, giving the public the chance to once again peruse its vast array of animal specimens – nearly 70,000 in total.
While the Natural History Museum receives many more visitors, the Grant Museum's collection is hard to beat. It really is one of the capital's hidden gems.
The museum began life in the 1820s, founded by zoologist Robert Grant. The collection was (and still is) used for teaching students at University College London.
Highlights include (but are by no means limited to):
glass models of jellyfish, sea anemones, gastropods, sea cucumbers and cephalopods. These were made in the mid-19th century by Leopold and Rudolf Blaschka.
Dodo bones. A member of the pigeon family, the Dodo was a flightless bird which has been extinct for some 300 years.
a Quagga skeleton. You may be wondering what on earth a Quagga is.....well, it's a kind of zebra that could once be found in South Africa. Sadly, this unique creature was hunted to extinction in the 1870s.
a Tasmanian Wolf skeleton. Once found in Australia and New Guinea, this animal died out in the 1930s. It was once considered a pest and hunted heavily. When it was noticed that its numbers were fast dwindling, a law was passed to protect them, but by then it was too late.
The Grant Museum also holds around 14,000 insect specimens, many of which were collected more than a hundred years ago. The collection includes just about every critter imaginable, which is bound to delight curious kids and adults alike.
The museum puts on a number of special events throughout the year – click
here to see what's coming up.
It's a pity it's only open weekdays, as this means fewer children will be able to enjoy its delightful offerings, but if you can make it along, it's well worth a couple of hours of your time.
