Inspiring Nature - Help Us Reopen Our Gallery

Aim

Our Natural History Gallery has been reimagined to inspire connection to the natural world. Help us raise the £30,000 we need to reopen!

Together, we can complete this once-in-a-generation transformation that will inspire visitors to understand, protect and find joy in the natural world.

We've raised £12.5 million.

Now, we need your help to raise £30,000 towards the final costs of bringing Nature + Love to life.

Nature needs us. And we need nature.

Nature inspires us, teaches us and helps us understand our place in the world. At a time when our planet faces unprecedented environmental challenges, helping people connect with nature has never been more important.

That's why we're reimagining the Horniman's much-loved Natural History Gallery for a new generation, the final transformation that will complete our wider Nature + Love redevelopment project.

We want to celebrate our extraordinary collections while telling a more relevant story about our changing planet, our relationship with nature, and the positive action every one of us can take.

Museums have the power to inspire hope as well as understanding. Every day the Horniman helps children, families and visitors discover the wonder of nature and imagine how they can help protect it.

WHAT WE ARE DOING

We are asking our amazing supporters - and anyone who loves the Horniman’s work - to help us raise £30,000 to help reopen our Natural History Gallery, completing our Nature + Love project. 

For the first time in more than 60 years, our much-loved gallery will be completely redisplayed, alongside a new children’s discovery space.

This overdue development will bring our Natural Sciences specimens to life, making them fit for the future through the latest conservation approaches and a more immersive and interactive experience for our visitors.

A NATURAL HISTORY GALLERY FOR THE FUTURE

Our beloved Natural History Gallery houses a renowned Natural Sciences Collection and is a portal to the natural world. For some of our visitors our gallery could be the first time they encounter many of the animals and plants that call our planet home. But for over 125 years, our gallery and collection have represented a story more recognisable to a Victorian audience than anyone visiting today - the displays and interpretation were outdated, the specimens needed some TLC, and the beautiful spaces were underutilised.

We felt it was time to update the display of the Natural Sciences Collection and reimagine the way the story of nature is told by our gallery to suit our modern age and visitors.

Our team, volunteers and partners spent 8 months decanting the gallery ready for refurbishment. This was a careful, systematic process, using the latest technology for protecting our specimens. The decant process also helped improve our records and have a better understanding of our specimens. The project involves a full reimagining of the gallery following refurbishment of the building’s stunning arched roof and original flooring, while retaining the much-loved atmosphere and character of the current displays – with our overstuffed walrus back in pride of place!

The new gallery will feature:

• the renovation of our stunning Grade II-listed Victorian gallery
• many of the original historic showcases restored
• over 2,300 objects from the Horniman’s collection and artist commissions
• 1,139 conserved specimens (and counting!)
• the return of our walrus, Apostle Clock and other beloved favourites
• interactive displays, games and films to encourage engagement
• stories of hope, success and human connection with nature from around world
• a new children's discovery space, co-designed by children, for children
• and more exciting, new features still under-wraps!

Our team of Conservators have collectively spent 8,290 hours conserving our Natural Sciences Collection – so far! There are just 50 specimens left to go and we need your help to ensure they’re ready for their new home.

Following exposure to excess natural light for a prolonged period on display, several of the taxidermy collection were badly faded. Informed with the latest knowledge and techniques, our Conservation team have helped these specimens regain their more scientifically accurate appearance by re-colouring them with specialist, conservation-grade materials. And look at the results above! The Golden Lion Tamarin has been restored to its vibrant fiery coat.

In the new children’s discovery space, families with young children from four community groups in South London worked with our staff and volunteers to select species of wildlife that excited and interested them, and to create ways for other children to explore and learn about them too. 

FROM WONDER TO ACTION

We hope every child, every visitor who walks through our doors leaves believing they can help shape a better future.

Because when people feel connected to nature, they're more likely to protect it.

Our new gallery and spaces have been developed with the voices, perspectives and expertise of school children, home educating families, community groups, volunteers, artists, source communities, and local families. The works are complemented by a range of nature-focused partnerships. The gallery will be a much-needed resource enabling us to deliver more inclusive, accessible programmes that engage even more people.

We want to invite visitors to see themselves as part of nature, not separate from it.

In the new gallery visitors will:

• encounter species from around the world from the land, sea and air
• understand how climate change and biodiversity loss affect people and nature around the world
• recognise that every community experiences these changes differently
• discover first hand stories of conservation challenges and success
• be inspired by local activism in response to human impact on the environment
• enjoy artistic responses to nature, produced especially for the gallery
• leave feeling curious, inspired and ready to make a difference

With the learnings and inspiration from our new gallery spaces, volunteer, community and learner groups can then use our new Gardens facilities created as part of the Nature + Love project to nurture their practical skills.

Inspiring the next generation

Every year thousands of children and young people will continue to visit the Horniman to experience nature up close, often for the very first time.

They'll meet animals they've never seen before. Discover ecosystems they've never heard of. Ask questions. Imagine futures.

Our new gallery and children's discovery space have been designed to nurture curiosity, supporting young people to understand the natural world while giving them confidence that they can help care for it.

Because today's young visitors will become tomorrow's changemakers: scientists, conservationists, artists, teachers and activists.

We have worked with five schools and home educating families throughout the gallery’s development. Children have created artwork, displays and shared their ideas and responses to nature through the space, learning about nature and Museum careers along the way. The Early Curators below helped to select the species on display, and created a collective art piece of a turtle in their classroom.

Learners from across Addey and Stanhope School (below) curated and created a new display especially for our gallery, sharing their responses to plastic pollution and how they are helping to change attitudes in their community.

Global Impact

Nature connects us all. Around the world, people have developed deep and powerful relationships with the natural world - shaping cultures, traditions, livelihoods and ways of caring for the places and species around them.

In our new gallery, we have worked with communities around the world, including diaspora communities here in the UK. We’ll share their stories and perspectives, helping visitors to discover how people in different places understand, value and protect nature.

You’ll also discover inspiring examples of conservation in action - from Indigenous knowledge passed down through generations to exciting new technologies. Like the remarkable revival of the kākāpō in Aotearoa, New Zealand, these stories show what can happen when knowledge, people and passion come together to give nature a helping hand.

Indigenous Māori groups moved the kākāpō, a flightless parrot, to different islands where they are protected from invasive predators introduced by British colonisers.

Artists from around the world have created bespoke artworks for the gallery, to help visitors understand their connection to nature, and the impact of environmental changes felt by different communities and cultures. We look forward to sharing more about their personal stories soon. 

This new gallery will help the Horniman build even stronger connections with communities around the world. By bringing together knowledge, stories and experiences from different cultures, shared through a rich mix of voices and creative mediums, we’ll give visitors new ways to see and understand our relationship with nature.

We hope people leave feeling inspired by the knowledge and ideas shared across generations and cultures – and empowered by the many ways we can all play a part in caring for the natural world.

THE IMPACT OF YOUR DONATION

Your support will help us:

• complete the transformation of our Natural History Gallery and children’s nature discovery space
• conserve the remainder of our Natural Sciences Collection – and bring the walrus back to pride of place
• ensure that our new facilities will inspire future generations through inclusive, accessible programmes, to protect and connect with the natural world
• deliver workshops, community growing and wellbeing projects,  learning programmes, and support volunteer-led nature activities for families
• reimagine a landmark museum gallery for generations to come

Help write the next chapter.

For almost 125 years the Horniman has inspired generations to explore the natural world. 

With your help, we'll inspire the next generation to protect it.

Every donation brings us closer.

Please help us reopen the Horniman’s unique Natural History Gallery and bring back our remarkable collections, inspiring hope, curiosity and action for our shared future.

We are thrilled to have raised £12.5 million for the project, with major funders including The National Lottery Heritage Fund, Seedfunders, and hundreds of individual donors having already backed this vision.

We now need YOUR help to raise the final piece of the funding puzzle!

THANK YOU

Whatever form it takes, your support and contributions are hugely appreciated.

Contact us: [email protected]

Find out more: horniman.ac.uk

The Horniman Museum & Gardens in a charity registered in England & Wales (802725).

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What is Nature + Love?

We are grateful to our funders and supporters, who have enabled us to complete and open much of the Nature + Love redevelopment.

This summer, we transformed our Gardens opening new nature play, community growing and wellbeing spaces, for the residents of South East London and beyond.

Play Area, Gardens Cafe and Improved Access to Nature Trail (opened May 2026)

Our brand-new Kusuma Nature Play area, family-friendly cafe, and improved, step-free access and interpretation for London's oldest Nature Trail, designed to make outdoor learning through play part of every visit, connecting children, their families and all visitors to the natural world in new ways.

Gardens Nursery & Community Garden (opened May 2026)

A new hub for sustainable gardening, workshops, and community growing, helping local people connect with food, plants, and climate action. The Gardens Nursery provides state-of-the-art space for our Gardens Team to maintain and develop our 16-acres of green space, alongside space for workshops. The new Community Garden has been designed alongside participants on our social prescription programme who experience loneliness or mental ill-health and are referred to us through local GP surgeries and other routes. These spaces provide accessible, sensory, calm experiences  for people taking part in nature-based reflection and activity to enhance wellbeing. The new spaces are already being used by our Gardens staff and volunteers, family support organisations, and community groups including The Stroke Association, Mindful Mums and Lewisham Family Hubs. 

Funding method

Keep what you raise – this project will receive all pledges made by 29th October 2026 at 11:55pm