The Natural History Museum 2 Year 4

The Natural History Museum The Natural History Museum is on Cromwell Road in the South Kensington area of London.

It was originally part of the British Museum but it became too big and the people decided to build another museum.

In 1964 a competition was held to design a new museum. The winner was Captain Francis Fowke, however, he died in 1865. So, Alfred Waterhouse took his place.

Alfred changed the plan a bit by making it have Romanesque architecture and started the construction in 1873. It was completed in 1880.

Then they took the exhibits from the British Museum to the Natural History Museum and the museum opened in 1881.

In the western wing of the museum the decoration was of living things.

But, on the eastern wing of the museum were statues of extinct creatures.

The builders placed terracotta tiles inside and outside the museum to avoid the acid smog of Victorian London ruining them.

Rene Broadaway 4H