The only public way into the adjoining Pitt Rivers Museum runs through the Oxford University Museum of Natural History, so a visit here also opens the door to its neighbour. The museum displays many of the University of Oxford's natural history specimens, drawn from a collection of more than six million items.
Founded in 1860 and standing on Parks Road, the museum is also a working part of the university. Its lecture theatre is used by the chemistry, zoology and mathematics departments.
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The Museum has over seven million historical and modern specimens encompassing the natural world.
The mineralogy and petrology collections include over 30,000 mineral specimens of global provenance and over 100,000 petrological samples including research suites, historic collections and excellent individual examples of various rock types. The collections also encompass gemstones, meteorites and decorative stone.
We rely on the generous support of the public to fund our events and exhibitions.
The introduction and expansion of the British railway network in the first half of the 19th century revolutionised travel and the transport of goods across the country. Aside from transforming transportation, the cuttings for the new railway lines revealed rock outcrops that had never before been seen – and, in turn, unveiled a wealth of palaeontological discoveries.
Delve into this colourful display in the Upper Gallery, featuring beautiful gemstones and an incredible variety of jewellery design.
The Museum building is as spectacular today as when it opened in 1860. Learn more about the world's first purpose-built natural history museum.
The Museum offers a range of learning experiences for different audiences through online activities, in-museum sessions, and self-guided visits.
Our palaeontology collections include one of the world’s most important collections of Middle Jurassic dinosaurs; exceptionally preserved specimens with intact soft tissues; and enigmatic fossils representing the earliest complex multicellular organisms. It features around 400,000 fossils, ranging from the Archean, ~2.7 billion years ago, to the end of the Pleistocene, 11,700 years ago.
Oxford University Museum of Natural History has been a centre of world-leading research and scientific debate since it opened in 1860.
Excavations to uncover Europe’s longest sauropod dinosaur trackway continued in Oxfordshire this summer.
From knitted a T.rex to a silver T.rex necklace, search our online shop's dinosaur collection to find the perfect gift. Free UK delivery on orders over £40.
Monday 8 September They have gone, the last young swift was seen to leave on the 5th September so this concludes the swift diary for 2025. It's always sad when the last one leaves but at least we know that they will return next May.
Did you know that the Museum's own Megalosaurus was the first dinosaur to be named and described?
The oceans were once filled with trilobites, ancient animals that are some of the first creatures with hard parts found in the fossil record. A giant slab of rock preserves a natural gathering of three types of trilobite, as well as many brittle stars.
Set in the heart of a historic university city, Oxford University Museum of Natural History provides an inspiring backdrop for a wide range of private events. This characterful neogothic building dates back to the 1850s and is home to over seven million natural history specimens.
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