We're excited to welcome visitors back to our building next week. Our free exhibition 'Wonder' is open from 20 January. We also have a range of online and in-person events, tours and workshops coming up in February and March. Plan ahead and get your tickets to avoid disappointment. buff.ly/Ph8w6Er

This year, why not publish your research with a Society Journal? The Linnean Society is committed to publishing high-quality and groundbreaking scientific research across the four themes of botany, zoology, biology and evolution, striving to make these accessible & engaging to a global audience.

Join Peter Grant FLS FRS & Rosemary Grant FRS on Wed 4 March as they discuss their landmark research on Darwin’s finches and how new species form. Peter and Rosemary are renowned evolutionary biologists, having studied these finches on the Galápagos islands since 1973. buff.ly/ZbYnmf2

Trade in your orange balls for green ones and learn about these fascinating algae growths! The Marimo could be the true star of the show. #MartySupreme #Marimo

What have the beavers ever done for us? (Quite a lot, actually!) Join Şeniz Mustafa and learn about the beavers that call the Ealing Beaver Project home and the impacts they have had on the local ecosystem and community. Grab your free ticket at the link below: buff.ly/YIBrfDU

Today marks 247 years since the death of Carl Linnaeus (1707–1778). His work underpins modern biology, from placing humans within the animal kingdom to establishing binomial nomenclature still used today (e.g. Homo sapiens). At the Linnean Society, we reflect on his enduring legacy.

Lots of wintry landscapes across the UK today. Stay cosy and enjoy this snowy scene from 'The temple of flora, or Garden of nature' by Robert Thornton (1799-1807) (LSL ref: P 582.4(084.1)THO) . And it's available as a print, card or poster at buff.ly/YcXCJwZ

Explorer & naturalist Alfred Russel Wallace was born #OTD in 1823. He independently conceived the theory of evolution by natural selection & was the father of biogeography. His portrait hangs at the Society alongside Charles Darwin, commemorating the 1858 reading of their joint paper on evolution.

Planning an event or meeting this year? You could hold your talk with Darwin and Alfred Russel Wallace looking on, or throw a drinks reception in our historic library. We have a range of room sizes available to hire in our historic, Central London location - learn more at buff.ly/W960Jo6

The programme is out for our Symposium, Exploring Queerness in Natural History, on 5 February. We're excited to hear from our Symposium Curators, Connor Butler and @aquadan1.bsky.social, as well as talks from Simon Goldhill, @canopyrobin.com and @rossbrooks.co.uk. (1/3) buff.ly/jc6Unz7

We've started the year with fantastic news from some of our Fellows. Bill Bailey FLS and Mike Gunton FLS received Honours in the King's New Year Honours List. Meanwhile, Sandy Knapp PPLS has been appointed Director of Research at @nhm-london.bsky.social. Congratulations from all of us!

London book talk on HUMANS: A MONSTROUS HISTORY! I'll be speaking on Thursday 5th May, 6pm, at @linneansociety.bsky.social More info and registration below. A free exhibition, "Wonder" is now on and ends the next day. 1/2 💙📚 🧪 🗃 #medieval #earlymodern #histsci #histmed #18thC #HAMH

Forget your new year's resolutions, we're doing new year's EVOLUTIONS: which marvellous mollusc from the Linnean collections are YOU? Take our 100% accurate quiz now to uncover your 2026 cephalopod. buff.ly/TrphMg2

It's positively arctic here in London today! We're feeling a lot like these arctic foxes, Vulpes lagopus, all bundled up against the cold. You can help support our charity by picking up a print of your own cuddly foxes at the link below!

What counted as knowledge in Britain’s age of exploration...and who decided? On Wed 4 Feb, @edwinrose.bsky.social explores how natural knowledge was shaped by travel, collecting, and exchange - and whose voices were left out. 6–8pm · Burlington House Find out more: buff.ly/ypMIRvt

Join art historian @giovannialoi.bsky.social for an online talk on the enduring legacy of Cabinets of Curiosities. From early modern Wunderkammern to contemporary art, he explores how collecting and wonder continue to shape how we understand the world. Thurs 29 Jan | 6:30pm-7:30pm buff.ly/SKvWTwN

Happy New Year from us at the Linnean Society! Enjoy this print of an advertisement for Pain's Fireworks for Queen Victoria's Jubilee in 1887. You can even get a print of it here: buff.ly/OYLcWDQ

As we come to the end of our 2025 highlights, this feels like a fitting way to close the year. Our Founder’s Day Lecture was a flagship moment, celebrating Gilbert White’s revolutionary way of seeing nature. Fellow of the Linnean Society Jenny Uglow brought his values and ideas vividly to life.

Wool you come to our event? Monica Stenzel will trace the history of sheep's wool over the millenia, its traditional use and modern reinterpretation through science, as well as its role in the future of clothing. 📍Linnean society, Piccadilly 📆 6pm, 25 February 2026 🎟️ From £8 buff.ly/jsvezrP

Thirty, and flirty and AI-ing? It's hard to deny the impact AI has had on the world this year, highlighted here in a guest blog about its use in scientific research in our Botanical Journal! Did you know Machine Learning can help detect salt stress in plants? 🌍🧪 Check it out 👇 buff.ly/pU9nbpv

Pint of Science...One of our standout highlights of 2025 🦤🎶 Dodos, Giggles, and Unexpected Hits sold out fast, bringing cutting-edge dodo science from Dr Neil Gostling and brilliant musical comedy from Helen Arney... a truly unforgettable night at the Linnean Society.

Our historic collections have been seen by a huge range of collaborators and visitors from around the world this year. Our team are always happy to provide tours for groups and clubs, or for schools and universities. Find out more at buff.ly/WZaTeR6

Our Green Careers Conference hosted with the British Ecological Society brings together green employers, inspirational speakers, and bright, enthusiastic young people looking to take the next steps in their careers by networking, workshopping their CVs, and honing their interview skills.

'Herbarium Cabinet', a beautiful work by Tess and Alfred Newall, was on display for one week only as part of London Craft Week in May. With gorgeous hand-painted flowers on beautifully-designed furnishings, it was a delightful addition to our library.

This Christmas Day, we're sharing a festive favourite with a scientific past. This illustration of Poinsettia pulcherrima comes from Fleurs de Java (1742), created during the Linnean age of botanical discovery. From science to Christmas tradition, season’s greetings from us at the Society!

"This is an incredible space, I discovered it just passing. A beautiful exhibition, so peaceful too. When I retire, I will come here and read a few of these beautiful books!" Quite the review! We look forward to welcoming many more visitors to our magical little bit of Burlington House next year.

Our school workshops took off running this year, with a nearly 50% increase in students engaging with classification, evolution and life cycles. You can find out more about our education offer by visiting our website here: buff.ly/fyRjHfF

SO ready for lift off - especially with Maggie....! 🚀👩🏾‍🚀

📍 Online Lecture 📆 Jan 23, 12:30 -1:30 ✨ Join Simon Pooley as he discusses the okapi, a rainforest giraffid which has become a symbol of scientific curiosity, colonial power, and conservation challenges. Grab your free tickets here: buff.ly/CGq6rfy

Our most-attended online lecture of 2025 explored how Madagascar’s birds evolved in isolation, shaping one of the world’s most remarkable avian assemblages. Over 200 people joined Dr Sushma Reddy for an evening of insight into island evolution and biodiversity. Congratulations Sushma!

What has over 61,000 records, and over 218,000 images? Why it's the new home for our digitised collections, Linnean Online. The new platform is part of our work to share our scientifically and historically significant collections with the world. Find out more about the project at buff.ly/Uk2mDRV

This year Our Local Nature Grant funded seven youth-led projects. Young bee keepers, plant kits for children recently released from hospital, bird boxes, insect hotels, nature trails... You name it, they've made it! Read more about the achievements of this year's grant awardees here: buff.ly/b78hptr

We've had a full year of Lunchtime Lectures on a wide range of topics, from woodland management to mountain lizards; tigers to hedgehogs; e-coli to 16th century botanical art. You can watch them here on our YouTube channel: buff.ly/wewQSNi

🪶 Discover how one man’s intimate observations of swifts, frogs, and fields sparked a revolution in our understanding of nature. Catch up with Jenny Uglow's illustrated talk on Gilbert White, exploring how he came to be called ‘the father of ecology’. Watch it now on YouTube:

Take a close-up look at Robert Brown's microscope from the comfort of your home. Our January Linnean lens will look at the microsope, used by the Scottish naturalist to make vital discoveries about the natural world. 📆 14:00, 13 January 2026 📍Online via Zoom 🎟️ Free buff.ly/OXJJinr

Worm news! 🪱 Two new polychaete species + a new subfamily from #Indonesia, led by Joko Pamungkas (Senckenberg Global Fellow). Fresh out in #ZJLS. @linneansociety.bsky.social @sgn.one @oceanspecies.bsky.social #Polychaeta #Taxonomy #NewSpecies #Nereididae #Dendronereidinae #Tylorrhynchinae

What's behind the 18th door on our LinnSoc Highlights calendar? Our fantastic one-day symposium on Organismal Resilience in a Rapidly Changing World! With 18 wonderful speakers hosting an engaging & informed discussion, our Biological Journal looks forward to the related Special Issue next year! 🌍🧪

Our Treasure of the Month blogs investigate the stories behind items in our collection. A 2025 highlight was this look at the notebooks used by Alfred Russel Wallace during his Malay Archipelago expedition (1854-62) and how we are working to conserve them. buff.ly/UkKJCQk

🌷 Uncover how global voyages, rare specimens and vital Indigenous knowledge reshaped the making of British natural history. Join Dr Edwin Rose as he discusses his recent book, Reading the World: British Practices of Natural History 1760-1820. 📆 4 Feb 2026 Tickets here: buff.ly/eNIDzHM

Our Medals and Awards are a highlight of any year, and 2025 was no expection. The awards recognised lifetimes of acievement, as well as rising stars in the fields of research, conservation, botanical art and advocacy.

Sharing natural history collections through unusual sights, sounds and even smells was the theme of our symposium in February. In collaboration with @qmul.bsky.social and @bshsnews.bsky.social, the event explored new ways of (Re)Discovering Natural History.

If you missed the @linneansociety.bsky.social's annual lecture in #Edinburgh last month, you can watch it now on YouTube! 👇 Hear Mark Blaxter (@sangerinstitute.bsky.social) give an inspiring overview of the Tree of Life Project! 🌳🦋🐒 www.youtube.com/watch?v=Cca7...

It's #WorldMonkeyDay today! Despite being only a few short branches away from us on the tree of life, more than half of all primate species (monkeys included!) face extinction. By studying and protecting the natural world, we secure a brighter future not just for the monkeys, but ourselves as well.

By grabbing yourself a set of our nature-inspired greetings cards, you are supporting our 237 year old charity! Don't have time to drop by our shop in Piccadilly? You can have a browse online too buff.ly/njpQOqC

Over 800 people have attended Linnean Lens talks this year, with our most popular being Leonhard Fuchs's History of Plants. You can watch it, and all our other Linnean Lenses here: buff.ly/MidnesM

Still buzzing from our Christmas Lecture! Pete Wyer lit up the room and premiered his intimate library version of Mannaz: 72 bird-inspired voices evolving into one harmony, drawn from the idea that human speech has birdsong roots. A curious, musical night, and a perfect end to our 2025!

In September, our president, Dr Mark Watson, delivered a lecture on the ongoing changes to the Linnean Society, wherein he looked back to look forward and shared insights into our strategy, our home at Burlington House, and the future of the Society. You can read more about it here: buff.ly/ADc4ffx

At Open House this year we welcomed over a thousand visitors to our historic building. Visitors explored our collections and the library, and got stuck in to some natural history inspired origami!

Don't miss out on our Symposium: Exploring Queerness in Natural History, where we explore topics such as how we uncover and research LGBTQ+ and queer ecological histories and identities. 📆 February 05, 10:00 - 19:00 📍 Linnean Society of London Book your tickets here:

Slaying at the Linnean, this blog gets 10s across the board from us! Kicking off our journal blog 'The Paper Trail', this paper in our Zoological Journal turned some heads not just because of its looks, but because this 'tropical' butterfly was found hiding in the snow! 🌍🧪👇🦋 buff.ly/S7wr5Td