By Diana Clements
Attention Rockwatchers! The Natural History Museum in London has unveiled an extraordinary exhibit that you won’t want to miss. Welcome to the Evolution Garden, a new outdoor space that brings the history of our planet to life in the museum’s east garden. Open daily during museum hours with free access—best approached from the tunnel—this garden offers an engaging journey through geological time.
As you step into the Evolution Garden, you’ll be greeted by a familiar yet transformed figure: Dippy the Diplodocus. Now cast in bronze and renamed Fern, this iconic dinosaur skeleton gleams with a golden shine amidst a lush setting of tree ferns, evoking the Mesozoic era. Keep an eye out for the golden skeleton of the predatory dinosaur, Hypsilophodon, and try to spot the golden footprints embedded in the paving, which hint at the prehistoric creatures that once roamed the Earth.
The garden is more than just dinosaurs. Follow the timeline walkway of rocks paralleling Exhibition Road to discover 26 different rock types, starting with the ancient three-billion-year-old Lewisian Gneiss and culminating in modern human footprints and glass fragments near the museum’s entrance. Each section of the garden is thoughtfully planted to represent different geological periods, from the barren rock of early Earth to the verdant Carboniferous period and the fossil-rich Jurassic.
In addition to plants, the Evolution Garden showcases the evolution of animals. Marvel at golden models of early Cambrian creatures from the Burgess Shale, search for fossil invertebrates hidden in boulders, and admire large ammonites from the Jurassic period. Don’t miss the models representing the evolution of flight, from dragonflies to bats, with clever peep-holes linking these displays to the architecture of the museum itself.
The Evolution Garden is quickly becoming a favourite spot for visitors, offering plenty of benches for a relaxing lunch break. Starting in September, the Garden Café in the East Gardens will open, but until then, you can enjoy refreshments from the kiosk selling coffee, ices, and burgers.
Join the adventure and uncover the secrets of Earth’s history at the Evolution Garden—it’s a must-see destination for geology enthusiasts of all ages and if you visit why not tell us and others about what you learnt by entering our Rockstars Young Geologists’ Competition. You never know you might be one of our winners!
