Oxford University Museum of Natural History

Oxford University Museum of Natural History

Oxford University Museum of Natural History
4.5
10:00 AM - 5:00 PM
Monday
10:00 AM - 5:00 PM
Tuesday
10:00 AM - 5:00 PM
Wednesday
10:00 AM - 5:00 PM
Thursday
10:00 AM - 5:00 PM
Friday
10:00 AM - 5:00 PM
Saturday
10:00 AM - 5:00 PM
Sunday
10:00 AM - 5:00 PM
About
Oxford University Museum of Natural History holds an internationally-significant collection of natural history specimens and archives in a stunning example of neo-Gothic architecture. It is home to a lively programme of research, teaching and events focused on the sciences of the natural environment. Oxford University Museum of Natural History was established in 1860 to draw together scientific studies from across the University of Oxford. Today, the award-winning Museum continues to be a place of scientific research, collecting and fieldwork, and plays host to a programme of events, exhibitions and activities for the public and school students of all ages.
Duration: 1-2 hours
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  • anonymouslycoollol
    Port Louis5 contributions
    4.0 of 5 bubbles
    Very cool! but food…
    In the cafeteria, there isn’t a big variety of options of food and the food was okay. However, the museum was awesome! There is a small area where you go into and there are glowing crystals which only glow in the dark and is so fun! There are 2 floors and it is very cool because you learn about the past, the past livings and get to see how they looked like! It took my family and I a whole day to visit everything!
    Visited November 2022
    Written 23 March 2023
  • Georgie Bow
    Bristol, United Kingdom13 contributions
    5.0 of 5 bubbles
    A fabulous friendly museum
    Tremendous Museum! Had such a lovely time with the family and especially enjoyed the touchable specimens, such as the bears. The museum staff were very friendly and helpful. They provided us with a general map of Oxford and marked other areas of interest on it. The new displays are definitely a highlight - visually stunning!
    Visited April 2023
    Written 4 May 2023
  • Bunty8
    United Kingdom617 contributions
    5.0 of 5 bubbles
    Great Museum
    Good way to spend a few hours on a wet summer ‘s day. Arrived in Oxford to dark skies and rain, visited here and didn’t disappoint, very interesting and exhibits well laid out, dinosaurs especially good. It was busy but didn’t feel crowded, entry is free but you can leave a donation to help with upkeep. There is a small tearoom, but it was very busy so we gave it a miss, also a nice little shop. Well worth a visit.
    Visited July 2023
    Written 30 July 2023
  • Danielle S
    Staffordshire, United Kingdom55 contributions
    5.0 of 5 bubbles
    Amazing. 100% worth the journey
    Visited with my husband and sons, aged 11 and 9. It is amazing. I have wanted to visit for years, but not had the time. The displays are informative, with plenty of information for me to enjoy (as a secondary science teacher) and for both of my children to understand too. This place really does foster a love for learning of both science and history. I could have spent much more time here. We all had a great time.. and I got some ideas for classroom displays. I would highly recommend this to anybody, there is something for everyone.
    Visited August 2023
    Travelled with family
    Written 5 August 2023
  • S_Hvass
    Bramming, Denmark717 contributions
    4.0 of 5 bubbles
    Amazing building and fantastic dinosaurs
    You could visit this museum only for the amazing building it is located in. It is so beautiful and with such an amazing historical atmosphere. In addition the displayed items are really interesting, especially the dinosaur skeletons. This place awakens your inner child and curiosity, and it is a great place to visit also without children. Kudos for the free admission.
    Visited August 2023
    Travelled as a couple
    Written 9 September 2023
  • Marion M
    Nyon District, Switzerland571 contributions
    5.0 of 5 bubbles
    What a building
    What a fantastic building from the outside and inside. The fantastic intérieur with a glass and iron ceiling and stone pillar bases are worth visiting alone. The exhibits are mostly Victorian but interesting all the same.
    Visited September 2023
    Travelled with friends
    Written 24 September 2023
  • Crant0ck
    Birmingham, United Kingdom116 contributions
    5.0 of 5 bubbles
    A good museum well curated
    This is a good museum. Its small but well thought out and has history. The architecture is a feature and the rock columns interesting. Most impressive is the effort put into curation and explanation. There is no dumbing down but there are explanations that seek to talk to the public and are not experts talking to themselves. This is professional and the Pitt Rivers next door stands in contrast.
    Visited September 2023
    Travelled solo
    Written 1 October 2023
  • Claire W
    Radcliffe, United Kingdom4 contributions
    5.0 of 5 bubbles
    Lovely trip
    Great trip on a day out in Oxford with partner and 2 year old. Lots to see and interact with - good range of interesting exhibits and enjoy the textures and feel of bone fur etc. my son loves dinosaurs so it was very exciting to see the true scale of them
    Visited November 2023
    Travelled with family
    Written 7 November 2023
  • Amy B
    Solihull, United Kingdom4 contributions
    5.0 of 5 bubbles
    Beautiful open museum
    Lovely sized, interesting museum, which was the perfect size for kids (age 6-10) to spend a few hours. The main hall was light and open, with lots of tactile exhibits, ranging from rocks to bears. It also had a great cafe with fresh, vegan food. Highly recommended!
    Visited December 2023
    Travelled with family
    Written 29 December 2023
  • Oxfordian
    Oxford, United Kingdom24 contributions
    5.0 of 5 bubbles
    Well worth a visit
    Absolutely worth a visit if you are in Oxford. There is so much to see, and you could spend hours wondering the museum admiring the various exhibits. They have a great cafe upstairs which offers a lovely variety of food, including healthy options, cakes, homemade biscuits, and lunch boxes for the kids. They have a great shop, wonderful place to buy souvenirs or presents. Remember to take a look at the pillars around the outside of the museum, which are each made of a different material from somewhere in the world!
    Visited February 2024
    Travelled with family
    Written 16 February 2024
These reviews are the subjective opinion of Tripadvisor members and not of TripAdvisor LLC. Tripadvisor performs checks on reviews.

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4.5
4.5 of 5 bubbles2,505 reviews
Excellent
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598
Average
77
Poor
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Terrible
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grumpytruth
Old Colwyn, UK55 contributions
5.0 of 5 bubbles
Mar 2024 • Family
We visited here today, and we all had the best time!! There is so much to see and is enjoyable for all ages. The building is amazing and although it was busy it was manageable with two young children 2 and 4.

Big shout out to the member of staff who entertained the kids on a few occasions and made them paper boats, which they really enjoyed. Didn't manage to get his name but he deserves a shout out.

We will be visiting again!
Written 2 March 2024
This review is the subjective opinion of a Tripadvisor member and not of Tripadvisor LLC. Tripadvisor performs checks on reviews as part of our industry-leading trust & safety standards. Read our transparency report to learn more.

careyontravels
Boulder, CO21 contributions
5.0 of 5 bubbles
Oct 2023 • Family
We visited the natural history museum on a day with pouring rain. The museum has free entry, with a suggested donation. We were most interested in the fossil collection. Mary Anning's ichthyosaurus was a highlight for us. We didn't have a chance to try the food at the upstairs café but the coffee and tea were quite good.
Written 19 February 2024
This review is the subjective opinion of a Tripadvisor member and not of Tripadvisor LLC. Tripadvisor performs checks on reviews as part of our industry-leading trust & safety standards. Read our transparency report to learn more.

ATraveller363
Hampshire, UK156 contributions
4.0 of 5 bubbles
Feb 2024 • Solo
Busy on a Saturday so just a brief wonder through, a few Dinosaur casts so I'm guessing they are not real bones for some of the skeletons. A highlight for me was seeing the Elephant skeletons, they've got an African and Asian elephant side by side.
Written 18 February 2024
This review is the subjective opinion of a Tripadvisor member and not of Tripadvisor LLC. Tripadvisor performs checks on reviews as part of our industry-leading trust & safety standards. Read our transparency report to learn more.

Oxfordian
Oxford, UK24 contributions
5.0 of 5 bubbles
Feb 2024 • Family
Absolutely worth a visit if you are in Oxford. There is so much to see, and you could spend hours wondering the museum admiring the various exhibits. They have a great cafe upstairs which offers a lovely variety of food, including healthy options, cakes, homemade biscuits, and lunch boxes for the kids. They have a great shop, wonderful place to buy souvenirs or presents. Remember to take a look at the pillars around the outside of the museum, which are each made of a different material from somewhere in the world!
Written 16 February 2024
This review is the subjective opinion of a Tripadvisor member and not of Tripadvisor LLC. Tripadvisor performs checks on reviews as part of our industry-leading trust & safety standards. Read our transparency report to learn more.

Philippa W
22 contributions
4.0 of 5 bubbles
Nov 2023 • Family
To be honest, skeletons, bugs and rocks leave me pretty cold. But if you like them or are interested in them, or if you're a child under 10, this is going to be a good place to spend a couple of hours. It's a rainy day favourite for my kids - dinosaurs, animal skeletons, stuffed exotic creatures, a velvet draped hut simulating a cave full of gems, and on the second floor live insects. The cafe is functional-to-decent, and there are always going to be noisy kids racing around - which might be a pro or a con, depending on your point of view. It's not particularly big - definitely not anywhere near the scale of the London Natural History Museum - but packs a lot in. The shop - tiny and incredibly awkwardly placed - is stellar.
Written 16 February 2024
This review is the subjective opinion of a Tripadvisor member and not of Tripadvisor LLC. Tripadvisor performs checks on reviews as part of our industry-leading trust & safety standards. Read our transparency report to learn more.

Kelly R
Gloucester, UK13 contributions
5.0 of 5 bubbles
Feb 2024 • Family
Always a good visit with the family, donation only so an affordable day out. We always find new things to see and spend about 2hours here.
Written 16 February 2024
This review is the subjective opinion of a Tripadvisor member and not of Tripadvisor LLC. Tripadvisor performs checks on reviews as part of our industry-leading trust & safety standards. Read our transparency report to learn more.

Meander34228819939
8 contributions
5.0 of 5 bubbles
Feb 2024 • Couples
I really wish we hadn't left it so late to visit, because we really needed more time to see everything. There's so much to look at it the natural history museum, it's a fascinating place to visit.
Written 14 February 2024
This review is the subjective opinion of a Tripadvisor member and not of Tripadvisor LLC. Tripadvisor performs checks on reviews as part of our industry-leading trust & safety standards. Read our transparency report to learn more.

Jamie B
Burnham-On-Sea, UK23 contributions
3.0 of 5 bubbles
Feb 2024 • Couples
We walked around the museum after seeing the delights of the Pitts river museum. There are some rather good displays and lots of interesting information. We did enjoy the old rocks and meteorites. Quite a few of the displays look dated and tired. The newer displays of the butterflies were wonderful to see. The big dino skeletons seem to be all casts, which is fine but I guess you do end up feeling a bit cheated. Can’t really remember much from the second floor which probably says enough.
Pretty much what you expect, a not as good version of the natural history museum in the capital.
Toilets were clean. Cafe was busy and we didn’t stop for anything.
Overall worth a quick wander but you won’t be blown away.
Written 9 February 2024
This review is the subjective opinion of a Tripadvisor member and not of Tripadvisor LLC. Tripadvisor performs checks on reviews as part of our industry-leading trust & safety standards. Read our transparency report to learn more.

James H
7 contributions
5.0 of 5 bubbles
Sept 2023 • Family
What a great way to spend a few hours with the kids. Everyone had a great time we have been to the one in London this is smaller but still worth a trip if in the area
Written 24 January 2024
This review is the subjective opinion of a Tripadvisor member and not of Tripadvisor LLC. Tripadvisor performs checks on reviews as part of our industry-leading trust & safety standards. Read our transparency report to learn more.

Amy B
Solihull, UK4 contributions
5.0 of 5 bubbles
Dec 2023 • Family
Lovely sized, interesting museum, which was the perfect size for kids (age 6-10) to spend a few hours. The main hall was light and open, with lots of tactile exhibits, ranging from rocks to bears. It also had a great cafe with fresh, vegan food. Highly recommended!
Written 29 December 2023
This review is the subjective opinion of a Tripadvisor member and not of Tripadvisor LLC. Tripadvisor performs checks on reviews as part of our industry-leading trust & safety standards. Read our transparency report to learn more.

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OXFORD UNIVERSITY MUSEUM OF NATURAL HISTORY: All You Need to Know BEFORE You Go (with Photos)

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