Welcome to UCL Museums & Collections
UCL's outstanding collections cover a wide variety of
disciplines, reflecting the range of the university's academic work.
Three collections - the Petrie Museum, the Grant Museum and the Art Museum - are open to the public. Other collections are primarily for teaching and research but can be seen and studied by appointment.
We support teaching and learning, undertake and support research and run a wide range of events and outreach programmes.
Upcoming events at UCL Museums & Collections
Recent blog posts
Specimen of the Week: Week Thirty-Two
Mon, 21 May 2012 08:30:41 +0000
Burrowing around in a drawer last week, I discovered a fantastic looking skull with a curious labeling issue. Taxonomy of species changes all the time and some of our specimens go back at least to 1827. Ergo- not our fault. Is my point there. Anywho- it had the common name of one species, and the [...]
Read more...Grant Museum wins Museums and Heritage Award for Excellence
Thu, 17 May 2012 08:24:56 +0000
Last night a contingent from UCL including colleagues from Museums and Public Engagement, UCL Centre for Digital Humanities and Heritage Without Borders headed down to the illustrious premises of 8 Northumberland for the 10th Anniversary Museums and Heritage Awards. In total three UCL projects had been shortlisted; the move of the Grant Museum for Project [...]
Read more...Specimen of the Week: Week Thirty-One
Mon, 14 May 2012 08:30:52 +0000
When in Africa a couple of years ago, I looked high and low for these gorgeous animals. I mean EVERYwhere. When we finally caught up with a clan (clue), another tourist in our jeep attempted to ruin the moment by harping on about how disgusting they were. Sadly, for an unfathomable reason, this animal does [...]
Read more...Call My Bluffalo: The B-Roll
Tue, 08 May 2012 09:00:56 +0000
Last week the Grant Museum hosted Call My Bluffalo, a panel event in the format of the popular game show Call My Bluff albeit with a zoological twist. The panel was made up of Dr Ian Barnes (Royal Holloway Univeristy), Dr Anjali Goswami (UCL), Professor Kate Jones (UCL, Institute of Zoology) and Dr Victoria Herridge [...]
Read more...Specimen of the Week: Week Thirty
Mon, 07 May 2012 11:52:51 +0000
On the basis of the wonderfully, hot, sunny, and bright bank holiday weekend we are having (I really hope you’re not the kind of audience that doesn’t appreciate extreme levels of sarcasm) I thought we should celebrate one of the most summery animals known to Britain. Never seen in winter (unless it is having a [...]
Read more...Highlights
UCL's Grant Museum of Zoology recently hosted an exhibition of art works from several species of animal, including paintings by elephants and apes. The exhibition is co-curated by Mike Tuck, a graduate from the UCL Slade School of Fine Art, and Will Tuck, also a fine artist.
About the museums and collections
THE PETRIE MUSEUM OF EGYPTIAN ARCHAEOLOGY
About the museum:
Housing an estimated 80,000 objects, the Petrie Museum is one of the greatest collections of Egyptian and Sudanese archaeology in the world.
Website:
THE GRANT MUSEUM OF ZOOLOGY
About the museum:
Retaining an air of the avid Victorian collector, the museum contains cases packed full of skeletons, mounted animals and specimens preserved in fluid. Dating back to 1827, the museum covers the whole of the animal kingdom.
Website:
UCL ART MUSEUM
About the museum:
The UCL Art Museum was founded in 1847 with a gift of the sculpture models of John Flaxman. The Strang Print Room operates as a study centre and houses works on paper by artists including Dürer,Rembrandt, Turner and Constable.
You can visit the museum 1pm-5pm Monday to Friday. Click here for details.
Website:
THE GALTON COLLECTION
About the collection:
Comprising around 500 scientific instruments, papers, and personal memorabilia of Sir Francis Galton F.R.S. (1822-1911), this is a popular resource for researchers, schools, and those with an interest in the history of science.
The collection can only be visited by prior appointment with the curator. Click here for details.
Website:
INSTITUTE OF ARCHAEOLOGY COLLECTIONS
About the collections:
These collections include fine prehistoric
ceramics and stone artefacts, as well as
collections of Classical Greek and Roman ceramics, archaeobotanical and
zooarchaeological material, minerals and Western Asiatic material.
One-off displays and
temporary exhibitions are open to the public weekdays during term time
between 9am and 5pm.
The other collections are available by
appointment.
Website:
GEOLOGY COLLECTIONS
About the collections:
The Geology Collections contain a wealth of rocks, minerals and fossils collected globally over the last 175 years. Highlights include the Johnston-Lavis volcanological collection, the Regional Planetary Image Facility, and the UK repository for NASA images and maps.
For the collections' opening times, click here.
Website:
THE ETHNOGRAPHY COLLECTIONS
About the collections:
The Ethnography Collections hold an enormous variety of objects exemplifying material culture, textiles and artefacts from all over the world.
The Collections are only open by prior appointment with the Curator; click here for more details.
Website:
THE SCIENCE COLLECTIONS
About the collections:
The Science Collections house the wealth of scientific apparatus, equipment and memorabilia pertaining to the various scientists and their innovative work that was conducted at UCL over the last two centuries.
The Collections are only open by prior appointment with the Curator; for more details, click here.
