Temporary exhibitions

Life in the Dark

This autumn, discover dark mysteries and reveal hidden lights in a new exhibition. Explore the extraordinary diversity of animals that survive and thrive in worlds without light. From the dead of night, to the darkest caves and into the deepest oceans, you may be surprised by the undiscovered life in the dark. From fish to foxes, bats to boas, visitors will get up close to a huge variety of creatures specially selected from the Museum’s world-leading Collection, each with their own story to tell. Marvel at the adaptations that allow animals to flourish in darkness and reveal how they use their super senses to find food, a mate, and avoid being eaten. Visitors will experience science through immersive installations, transporting them from the chaos of a bat filled cave, past live specimens and onto the spectacular luminescence of a deep sea light show. Be enlightened by the darkness at this autumn’s most fascinating exploration through the natural world, and discover that when the lights go out, the action begins.

The Wider Earth

For the first time in its history, the Natural History Museum is creating a 357-seat traditional performance theatre. Housed in the Jerwood Gallery, this theatre will host the European premiere of the award-winning Darwin drama,The Wider Earth.

Featuring a cast of seven, and 30 hand-made puppets representing the exotic wildlife Darwin encountered, The Wider Earth is an ingenious coming-of-age story which celebrates the incredible complexity of our planet and Darwin’s adventurous spirit as he faced perilous environments and unknown dangers on his bold voyage.

The production explores the little-known story of the young Charles Darwin when, aged only 22, he set out on his daring five-year voyage on the HMS Beagle. When he departed, he could not have known that that this trip would help him reach controversial conclusions about natural selection and lead to his theory of evolution. The Wider Earth follows Darwin’s expedition as uncharted landscapes unfold in a series of dazzling animations and original illustrations from the voyage

Evening audiences will pass next to the Museum’s cutting-edge Darwin Centre. This comprises working laboratories as well as some of the 22 million zoological specimens housed there, including specimens collected by Charles Darwin on his voyage in 1831.

Written and directed by Dead Puppet Society’s creative director David Morton, the idea for The Wider Earth was conceived at a residency in Cape Town in 2013 with the Handspring Puppet Company – the creative team behind War Horse. The production was then developed for a further eight months in residence at St. Ann’s Warehouse in New York, followed by a workshop at The Lincoln Center in 2015 and went into production with Queensland Theatre for the 2016 world premiere.