Grant Museum of Zoology — Attraction in London

Dr. Doolittle would be sobbing into his faux leopard-skin hanky were he to walk the aisles of the Grant Museum of Zoology; the last remaining university zoological museum in London no less. Founded in 1828 as a teaching collection, the museum houses round 67,000 specimens. It’s like watching the Lion King Simba baby scene on pause, with the pretty much the whole animal kingdom on show. Even Noah didn’t manage to get as many furry friends onto his ambitious Ark before setting sail. There are skeletons. Mounted animals. Stuffed animals. Specimens preserved in fluid. Pickled moles, Tasmanian Tigers, the Quagga (a not very stripy zebra in case you were wondering and one of only seven quaga skeletons in existence) and even the very very dead but sorely missed Dodo (R.I.P. little fella) to name but a few celebrities. And you may wish to mind your head so as not to bump into a pair of antlers from an Irish elk (aka ‘Elky’) that span 3 metres across. Search long enough and you’ll probably find Simba, Timon and Pumbaa too.

This old Victorian collection has now been brought into the 21st century as well with cutting edge technology in the form of interactive iPad displays, QR codes and Twitter hashtags for the mobile generation in sharing mode. How very Evolution 2.0.

GLP trivia fact for you. The museum was founded by Prof Robert Edmond Grant (the clue is in the name), who was one of the two people who introduced evolution to Charles Darwin. In fact, it is the first place in an English University where evolution was taught.

Thanks for the tip off:...

Quirky Victorian gem of a museum - small but perfectly formed and FREE to visit - this museum houses a collection of specimens used to train zoology students to recognise different species and in itself is an interesting historical study of how teaching has changed - from real elephant skulls to 3D printed rodent skulls sent out during lockdown to students. The saddest thing I ever saw is the glass jar full of preserved moles which would have been used in dissection classes, and there are also some dog, fox and seal skulls sliced in two and sealed in glass a la Damian Hurst's shark so you can look inside their heads. There are hundreds of tiny specimens displayed in glass bottles and a lot of slides too. A touch of humour sees an array of different types of ape skeletons on the balcony, including one dangling off! I loved the crazy Victorian professor vibe of the place.

No cafe, but lots to look at. There's a table, Sky hotspot wifi, and staff are not overly interested in turfing you out - so it could be a warm space to hang out if you...

My boyfriend and I went during our visit to London this summer. We are both autistic adults, and one of my special interests is bones.

First off, full of skeletons just as expected, and I was super ecstatic! Secondly, it's a much quieter museum than you'd typically find in London, which is much better for our sensory issues. We went midday in the middle of summer, where other museums are very busy and loud and full of school trips etc.

It's not very big (just one large open room), but full of loads of interesting specimens. There is also a large table in the middle with chairs around that you can sit at, which was very helpful to my boyfriend who is also physically disabled.

The staff at the front desk were also super kind and informative, and let us put our backpacks behind the desk free of charge after we had been carrying them all morning.

It was also well ventilated - so not stuffy or warm - especially in the middle of summer. Considering it's a University museum, it was way better than I expected. Would...