A brand-new, state-of-the-art research centre for the Natural History Museum has just been given the green light. But sorry to all the dino fans out there – this is for professional nerds only.
The huge 25,000 metre squared centre is set to be built in the Thames Valley Science Park, near Reading. It will offer labs and workspaces for museum scientists, multifunctional space for lectures, a library and provide storage for an enormous 28 million specimens (that’s around a third of the museum’s collection).
The museum says that the facility will ‘enhance solutions-led research’ around stuff like climate change, biodiversity loss, health and sustainable resourcing.
Although it won’t be open to the public, the research hub will apparently have ‘engagement activities’ that will benefit the local community. Don’t ask us what they are though, that’s all the info we’ve got so far.
The project is being made possible thanks to a £201 million boost from the government, as part of a wider scheme to fund science, research and development. Building is set to start in 2025 and be completed by 2027. It’s hoped that it will become 100 percent operational by 2031.
Time Out at the Natural History Museum
You may not be able to walk around the DNA labs and fancy lecture halls of the NHM’s new addition, but so what? You can soon enjoy afternoon tea at the museum instead. And if you want to walk around the third most visited museum in Europe, take a look at Time Out’s guide to the seven best bits.
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