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Research & learning at the Grant Museum

The Grant Museum is the only remaining university zoology museum in London and contains specimens from the whole of the animal kingdom. The collection dates from the 19th century and is still added to. The collection contains a wide range of material including fluid preserved, pinned entomology, taxidermy, freeze-dried and skeletal specimens. The Grant Museum offers an active and exciting range of educational programmes. The collection is an excellent resource for several different audiences, offering experiences for primary and secondary schools, art and special interest groups, and university classes.

Only 7% of the collection is on display but the rest of the collection is primarily available for use in research. The Grant Museum welcomes research enquiries and the collection is available for the research community for study and sampling.

Sampling
The Grant Museum does allow destructive sampling of the collection, however, you must contact the Museum first to discuss any proposed sampling. Please note the application process for sampling requests may take some time. 

Information for Researchers

Download the information for researchers document with essential information for those wishing to access the collection.

Our searchable online catalogue of the specimens held by the Museum is available via Collections Online. Please note the online catalogue is not 100% comprehensive and not all specimens are listed.

Higher Education and Research

The Grant Museum is an excellent resource for university groups who wish to use the material for teaching practicals. It is the only remaining university zoology museum in London and covers the whole of the animal kingdom.

Enquiries from academics and researchers who wish to gain access to the collection for study of particular specimens are also very welcome.

Vertebrate Diversity

Vertebrate Diversity is a web-book that contains a series of information pages broadly outlining the diversity of living vertebrates, with a few notes on their fossil relatives. 

School visits

The Grant Museum of Zoology welcomes visits from school groups. A self-guided visit to the Museum is free of charge. These self-guided visits can be booked Tuesday to Friday, 10am-12pm, depending on availability. Booking is essential, please email the Museum for more details. The Museum can accommodate up to two classes, or 60 students per visit.

Key Stage 2 Science topics a self-guided visit to the Museum may help support include:

  • Bones and skeletons
  • Teeth, eating and diet
  • Grouping and classification
  • Adaptions and evolution

Art

The Museum is also an excellent place to come and find inspiration for artwork for people of any age. We are happy to take bookings from art groups and, depending on staff availability, make the collection more available to them by removing objects from their cases so that they can be drawn. Please note that we do not allow paint, pastels or charcoal in the Museum.

Further Education and Lifelong Learning

The collection fits into A-Level Biology syllabuses and arranges bookings for groups at this stage of education with hands-on activities based on topics of their choice. We are also available to special interest groups and lifelong learners. We dedicate time to developing new resources and activities for groups who wish to cover a topic that we haven’t done before.

Family Learning

At the Museum we know that there is a lot to be gained from getting hands-on with our specimens, however old you are. We organise a programme of drop-in events for families on set dates during school holidays and on some weekends in term time. See our our events pages to keep up to date with what we've got going on or sign up to our mailing list.

Please contact the Museum for more information:

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