Grant Museum of Zoology

See the latest news and information about our current events: https://www.ucl.ac.uk/museums-collections/ucl-grant-museum-zoology/whats-grant-museum

200 years ago, UCL was founded on a radical idea: education for all.

To mark our bicentenary, the Two Centuries Here Exhibition explores UCL’s past, present, and future across our Bloomsbury campus.

The exhibition is open from 18 Feb 2026 to 31 July 2027.
#UCL200

People at the Student Centre. There is a curated display on the wall and a large banner with text which reads, "UCL200. Two Centuries Here.".

Students looking at the display part of the Two Centuries Here exhibition.

Visitors looking into Two Centuries Here display cases at the Octagon Gallery.

A student writing on a card in response to the question on the wall which reads, "What do you hope for the future of UCL?".

Two Centuries Here is a multi-space exhibition in the heart of central London, tracing @ucl.ac.uk’s origins and exploring 200 years of ground-breaking research, innovation, education and impact. Find out more here: www.ucl.ac.uk/about/events... #UCL200

UCL illuminated show with micrarium exhibit microscope slides across Wilkins building.

Wilkins building with illuminations of jarred specimens, bones and CT printed gharial skulls (Dr Laura Porro UCL Centre for Integrative Anatomy and team at UCL Bartlett B:Made studio)

UCL illuminated projections showing historic images of teaching classes in Grant Museum with leafy backdrop. Bioacoustics by Dr Jim Labisko UCL CBER.

Projections showing reconstructed Grant Museum dodo skeletons that were scanned and rearticulated by UCL anatomy student Byron Jarrett (UCL Centre for Integrative Anatomy).

UCL200 bicentenary projection show was spectacular! Showcasing 200 years of @ucl.ac.uk innovation and impact. @uclgrantmuseum.bsky.social portion featuring the micrarium, moles, @ucllifesciences.bsky.social
biodiversity research and @ucl-c4ia.bsky.social collaborations and student projects.

UCL celebrates 200 years: A landmark year begins Today, UCL marks 200 years since its foundation. Based in the heart of London, UCL is rooted in curiosity, tolerance and academic excellence. Throughout the year we will celebrate two centuries of lea...

💜 Today, @ucl.ac.uk marks 200 years since its foundation.
Throughout 2026, we will celebrate two centuries of learning and innovation and share those achievements with our global community.

➡️Discover our exciting #UCL200 programme of events and learn how you can get involved.

Today, UCL turns 200. 🎉 For two centuries, our community has opened doors, challenged convention and pushed the boundaries of knowledge across every discipline. Thank you to everyone who’s been part of the UCL story, here’s to the next century. ✨

#UCL200 #LoveUCL

UCL museum staff moving a trolley with a carefully wrapped gorilla skeleton. An umbrella is held over the gorilla.

Our gorilla skeleton is on the move ahead of preparations for the upcoming bicentenary celebrations. #UCL200

See the latest news and information about our current events: https://www.ucl.ac.uk/museums-collections/ucl-grant-museum-zoology/whats-grant-museum

A variety of wasp nest specimens in a display case at the Grant Museum.

Visitors interacting with the exhibition at the Grant Museum.

Two people looking into a display case at the Grant Museum.

Two people examining the paper sculptures in the Grant Museum.

We have now wrapped up our World of Wasps exhibition. It’s been great sharing their extraordinarily complex social structures, and celebrating their importance in our ecosystem. #GMZWasps

Planning a visit? Find out more about entry, opening times, research visits and more: https://www.ucl.ac.uk/museums-collections/grant-museum-zoology/visit-ucl-grant-museum-zoology

A visitor in the Grant Museum of Zoology using a virtual reality headset.

Last chance to see our World of Wasps exhibition, available to view until 24 January! Zoom inside a virtual wasp’s nest and see their life as master architects, pest controllers and pollinators. www.ucl.ac.uk/museums-coll... #GMZWasps

Waspy dressed visitors flank UCL’s wasp woman Seirian Sumner in front of Peter Ayres’ wasp nest sculptures in the Grant Museum of Zoology.

It was buzzing in @uclgrantmuseum.bsky.social today with #WaspLove on full display with a visit from Shona and Tam Reppe and @waspwoman.bsky.social herself! See World of Wasps exhibition before it closes on Jan 24.

QI - Series W: 10. ‘W’ Animals Sandi Toksvig looks at animals which start with a W with Nabil Abdulrashid, Holly Walsh, Sam Campbell and Alan Davies.

Brilliant new @qi.com episode ‘W Animals’ featuring one of @uclgrantmuseum.bsky.social ‘s famous specimens!

www.bbc.co.uk/iplayer/epis...

See the latest news and information about our current events: https://www.ucl.ac.uk/museums-collections/ucl-grant-museum-zoology/whats-grant-museum

One month to go… UCL turns 200! 🎉

On 11 February, we kick off #UCL200 – a year of celebrations marking our radical founding in 1826 as London’s first university, open to all. Expect parties, exhibitions, student festivals, art, books, performances, and more.

Get ready!

@uclspeccoll.bsky.social

Wasps are extraordinary animals living within complex social structures. Zoom inside a virtual nest and experience their homes, lifestyles and relationships at our exhibition until 24 January. https://www.ucl.ac.uk/museums-collections/events/2025/jun/world-wasps #GMZWasps

We would like to wish everyone a wonderful Winter Break! We are closed and will reopen at 1pm on 6 January 2026. www.ucl.ac.uk/library/news...

A person wearing a virtual reality headset.

We are proud to currently host the world's first exhibition centred on wasps, combining science, art and technology to reveal the secret world of these complex animals. Read more in the LCCOS Annual Report here: www.ucl.ac.uk/lccos/about-...

Jonathan Goodwin.

Join us on 9 January for award-winning actor Jonathan Goodwin’s live one-man adaptation of H. G. Wells’ sci-fi classic The Time Machine in the atmospheric surroundings of @ucl.ac.uk’s zoology museum! www.ucl.ac.uk/event-ticket...

Specimens in a display case at the Grant Museum of Zoology.

See this year's @ucl.ac.uk zoology student presentations and find out what they have discovered about their mystery museum specimens. Drop in between 2pm - 5pm on 5 December.

John Zhang of Datascape Realities.

John Zhang of Datascape Realities, the collective behind the virtual reality experiences at the heart of our latest exhibition, talks about the creative process and why virtual reality is an important tool in science communication. Read more here: www.ucl.ac.uk/museums-coll... #GMZWasps

Weird and Wonderful: Scavenger Hunt Join us all day and discover the unusual amongst the Grant Museum of Zoology collection with a new, and free to attend, scavenger hunt.

Join us on 9 December and discover the unusual amongst our collection with a new, and free to attend, scavenger hunt. Find out more and book here:

Maria Dragoi stood in the Micrarium at the Grant Museum of Zoology.

What’s missing from natural history collections? Maria Dragoi, @ucl.ac.uk Museum Studies alumna and current PhD candidate, discusses her research into our entomology collection and the importance of interpreting collections through a decolonial lens. www.ucl.ac.uk/museums-coll...

Speaker Idris Adams, PhD student at UCL CBER Sumner Lab in front of slide presentation screen showing images of the work of an entomologist.

Fabulous talk today by @idrisadams.bsky.social in @uclgrantmuseum.bsky.social all about why we should all love wasps - especially solitary wasps 🐝! #WaspLove #WorldOfWasps

Take a wasp’s eye journey through our rewilded interior via virtual reality in our current exhibition, World of Wasps. Find out more about wasps’ role as master architects, pest controllers and pollinators. https://www.ucl.ac.uk/museums-collections/events/2025/jun/world-wasps #GMZWasps

Research in Focus talks: Dietary Ecology and Prey Capture Abilities of Solitary Aculeate Wasps Join us in UCL Grant Museum of Zoology for our monthly talk series spotlighting current research into the collections and displays.

Idris Adams presents research into the dietary ecology and prey capture abilities of solitary aculeate wasps at the Research in Focus talk on 26 November.

YouTube video by Maddie Moate BRAIN DISSECTION! 🧠 What Makes Us Smart? | HALLOWEEN SCIENCE with Maddie Moate

Is a bigger brain better? Maddie Moate explores this question with Dr @laurabporro.bsky.social from the UCL Centre for Integrative Anatomy (@ucl-c4ia.bsky.social) in this Halloween special, including a feature on brain specimens from our collections.

Jo Durrant's Beautiful Universe Arts Podcast · Updated weekly · Jo Durrant celebrates and explores arts and science as part of our culture. Winner of the 2021 Sir Arthur Clarke Award: Space Achievement - Media, broadcast & written.

🎧 Ep 255 of Jo Durrant’s Beautiful Universe podcast is out Weds:

🤩 @1642author.bsky.social talks about passion for 17th century history, Prince Rupert & Quick Six

🐾 Story of echidna at @uclgrantmuseum.bsky.social

📲 podcasts.apple.com/gb/podcast/j...

💻 jodurrantsbeautifuluniverse.libsyn.com

Join us for today’s lunchtime @uclgrantmuseum.bsky.social Research in Focus talk with @knapprew.bsky.social from @ucl-c4ia.bsky.social discussing how museum specimens can be used to study brain evolution.

Thank you to all who came to our World Anatomy Day Event at the @uclgrantmuseum.bsky.social. We received 381 visitors (341 adults and 40 children); for comparison, a typical Saturday at the Grant Museum has about 230 visitors. Everyone seems to have discovered that #Anatomy is indeed Amazing!