Setting the standard? The Earth Science Galleries at the Natural History Museum, London

Abstract

The second phase of the new Earth Galleries at the Natural History Museum (NHM) was opened in July 1998, marking the complete re-display of the former Geological Museum at a cost in excess of 12 million. The Geological Museum had pioneered a new style of geology display in the early 1970s, and set a standard emulated by other national and local museums. While the Geological Museum exhibitions contained a wealth of specimens, those produced at about the same time by the NHM were often criticised for their lack of real objects. The Geological Museum passed to the control of the NHM in 1985 and is now known as the Earth Galleries. The new displays in the Earth Galleries are the latest product of the NHM's exhibition philosophy, and despite some shortcomings, do represent a new standard for the display of geological material.