14 things to do this winter for adults

Join us at our biggest party of the year as we see in the new year in style. Get ready to throw some shapes underneath Hope our blue whale, roar at our silent disco and explore our galleries after dark. Assemble your friends for a night you won't forget. You'll have a whale of a time!

31 December 21.00-1.30

By purchasing these green gifts from our shop you'll not only be supporting our important scientific work to protect nature, you'll also be reducing your impact on the planet. Plus, who doesn't love a festive dinosaur jumper? Not only are they tree-iffic, they'll also bound to tricera-tops everyone else's Christmas knitwear.

Discover the natural world in all its wonder and diversity at Wildlife Photographer of the Year, where 100 remarkable photographs illustrate the precious beauty of our planet.

Adults from £15.50

Open now

Our Hintze Hall balconies are home to a whole host of beautiful specimens that capture the wonderful diversity of life on Earth. But look a little closer and you'll notice that there are the odd one or two specimens in the cabinets that are, shall we say, a little bizarre. Peruse our displays and see if you can spot our locust eating a mouse, which comes with a written account by a Reverend Reid, who describes how, whilst living in Central Africa, he witnessed locusts eating not only mice but large spiders and cockroaches too.

Permanent, free

Why not take some time out to catch up over tea and cake in one of our cafes. Stocked with an array of delicious treats and with hot drinks to keep you toasty in the cold weather, our cafes are the ideal place to while away a couple of hours. Plus, where else in London can you have a cuppa next to a panda? But this isn't any old panda! Chi Chi, who takes pride of place in our Central Cafe, lived the highlife, was the inspiration for the iconic WWF logo and had a love life that nearly sparked a diplomatic incident with Russia.

Looking to begin the new year by trying something new? Join us before we open to the public for the day for an invigorating yoga class. Held underneath Hope our blue whale in the peace and quiet of our Hintze Hall, the class is suitable for all abilities and will be followed by a live gong bath. After the class has finished you'll get to see our Wildlife Photographer of the Year exhibition before it opens that day to the public.

19 January, 23 February, 8.00-9.15

Adult £35, Member £31.50

Join us for a special tour of our world-famous Dinosaurs Gallery before we open our doors to the public for the day.

Journey into the past with our knowledgeable tour guides as they explore how dinosaurs were first discovered, how they adapted to life on Earth and why they're so important to science today. At the end of the tour your guide will be on hand to answer all your pressing dinosaur questions.

Adults £25, child £17

Delve into our pioneering projects and find out more about our collections as we celebrate and showcase the world-leading scientific research we carry out here at the Museum.

Discovering our Ancestors: 23 January, 18.30-21.00

Onsite
Members: £15, Non-Members: £25

Online
Members and Supporters: Free, Non-Members: £5

If you've visited us before, you've most probably stared up at our blue whale or been shaken about by our earthquake simulator, but have you ever spied our lion skulls from the Tower of London or our owl with a pencil stuck in its head? There's plenty of strange objects on display in our galleries, you just need to know where to look. Check out our most weird and wonderful things to see. Did someone say fleas dressed up in tiny outfits? They sure did!

Permanent, free

Looking for a quiet space to relax in or maybe you want somewhere calm to have a sit down and take the load off? Our galleries can get busy at times, but there's lots of places around the Museum where you can escape the hustle and bustle. To help, we've shortlisted our top five quiet galleries and spaces with mindful activities where you can enjoy some calm, quiet time.

Permanent, free

Sign up for one of our new Naturally Curious short courses and learn from our world-famous experts. Whether it's Rocks in Space or Dinosaurs 101 - we've got something for every curious mind.

We've partnered with Cooper King Distillery to create England's first ever carbon-negative gin. Now available exclusively from our shop, it's made with 11 botanicals, including basil, lemongrass and clove. Made in Yorkshire, £1 from every bottle sold is also donated to the Yorkshire Dales Millennium Trust. Discovery Gin is the perfect tipple to warm you up on a cold winter's night.

Take a tour of our amazing spirit collection. This is your chance to take a peek behind the scenes at the Museum and see some of the incredible specimens that we care for in our spirit collection, including specimens collected by Charles Darwin. From a cute cookiecutter shark to our giant squid Archie who's a whopping 8.62m in length, it's an experience you'll never forget.

Various dates December-February

Adult from £25, Members from £20