Monarch butterflies have evolved a close relationship with milkweed plants. This is the butterfly’s only host plant; the butterflies lay their eggs on it and it is the only plant the caterpillars will eat. The toxins present in milkweed leaves protect the monarch eggs and caterpillars from predators

How are you feeling today? Is it more Paradise Tanager or Peanut Bug?

Volcanology refers to the study of volcanoes. Volcanoes are openings in the Earth's crust that allow molten rock, ash, and gases to escape. Volcanoes can also create rich deposits of copper, gold, silver, diamonds, and lithium, which are minerals useful in many modern technologies.

Our perception of how dinosaurs may have looked has been (and still is) in constant flux. If you compare this early imagining of an iguanodon to the full skeleton cast in our main court you can spot many differences. We now know that there are flaws in both of these renderings.

The European polecat is found across western Eurasia and North Africa. They were persecuted as being a pest animal in Britain, first declared as such under the reign of Elizabeth I. Due to hunting by farmers their numbers dropped significantly, but have been steadily returning in recent decades.

Wings come in all shapes and sizes and are found across the animal kingdom. They are a phenomenal example of convergent evolution. This means animals evolved structures that are functionally similar but structurally different.

Yesterday brought rainbows to Oxford 🌈 📷 | Patricia Wimmer (Hertford College), Tara Hathaway (Queens College), Berilboz (Green Templeton) and Lydia (Pembroke College)

She is checking to see if you have visited her in Breaking Ground yet. Our (free!) temporary exhibition Breaking Ground is still open. Drop by to learn about the powerhouse couple William and Mary Buckland and their contributions to palaeontology and geology.

Join us online via Zoom on Fri 6th Feb at 19.00 GMT for our next free talk when @dremmanicholls.bsky.social of @morethanadodo.bsky.social will deliver 'Tales from a Geological Curator' Members and non-members must register in advance: non-members email [email protected] for details

Relaxed Morning Opening Saturday, 31 January 2026 09.00 - 10.00am @morethanadodo.bsky.social oumnh.ox.ac.uk/event/autism... #Autism #AutisminMuseums

We're not really a 'keep your hands to yourself' kind of Museum. Come explore our variety of touchable specimens including hippo skulls, meteorites and real dinosaur fossils!

Join us every Saturday for a family friendly object handling session and Sundays for Family Friendly Sunday activities which are great for ages 5-8! https://oumnh.ox.ac.uk/events-for-families-and-children

Just published 📄 A special volume of Journal of Insect Biodiversity: "Fossil insects from the Cretaceous of East Asia" with the description of new Ghilarellinae (Symphyta) from Jinju Formation 🔗 doi.org/10.12976/jib... @nozomuoyama.bsky.social

We have di-snow-saurs at @morethanadodo.bsky.social! ❄️ ⛄️ 🦖 #dinosaur #snow #OxfordUniversityMuseumofNaturalHistory @ox.ac.uk

Do love Dinosaurs AND Drama? Join us 30 January to celebrate the 25th anniversary of 'Walking with Dinosaurs' with a new theatrical production adapting two episodes of the television series into Shakespearean drama. oumnh.ox.ac.uk/event/william-shakespeares-walking-with-dinosaurs

Reaching for our New Year goals like this raccoon is reaching for that grasshopper

Wishing you and your families a very happy and colourful New Year! May 2026 bring new experiences, new ideas, and a visit to your favourite Museum

We've celebrated 165 Christmases at the Museum. Here's to many more. Happy Christmas to all of those who celebrate. We are closed the 24, 25, 26 of December but are open throughout the New Year.

Oxford’s Wytham Woods has a long history as a venue for ecology research and are, despite their timeless appearance, a place of constant change. Learn more about what researchers are uncovering ⬇️ https://bit.ly/4rGXwI3

The National Archives publishes ‘A Year in Archives’ each year to celebrate the work of archives across the UK. Our newly acquired Buckland Archive and related Breaking Ground exhibition (on now!) were chosen as a Highlight this year. www.nationalarchives.gov.uk/archives-sec...

You’re 18 years old, an orphan, and your uncle and guardian has just been thrown in debtor’s prison. You have no other family around you. What do you do? Well, if you’re John Phillips (1800–1874), you attempt to run a lithographic printing business out of your uncle’s house.

The Museum of Natural History is seeking contemporary art work for our upcoming exhibition, with a total budget of £7000. Please note that that this must include all costs including artist time, shipping, fees, production, and travel (if necessary).

We are currently hiring for a Digital Assets Management System (DAMS) Manager. They will be responsible for ensuring that the museum’s digital assets are managed and used effectively for collections management, research, teaching, and public engagement. Apply now! oumnh.web.ox.ac.uk/dams-manager

Spent a lovely couple of hours sketching dinosaur skellingtons at @morethanadodo.bsky.social today. My sketching style is ever so slightly looser than my insect drawing style. A bit.

We asked @dremmanicholls.bsky.social what exactly needs to happen for dinosaur footprints to be preserved like those found in Oxfordshire. The answer is such a specific set of circumstances you'll be amazed that any have been found at all...

Need to grab some goodies for the holidays? Look no further than our shop! This is the first holiday season you will also be able to shop online with us! shop.oumnh.ox.ac.uk

The annual VertZoo trip to @morethanadodo.bsky.social for a comparative anatomy study practical is always fun, but this year @sotonbiosciences.bsky.social is joined by @unisouthampton_wsa! The museum refurb looks amazing, modern but completely in keeping @unisouthampton.bsky.social #ArtAndScience

Teaching today in the @morethanadodo.bsky.social seminar room, what better place to teach about natural history & natural history collecting to history undergrads for my first ever class for @ox.ac.uk history faculty! Huge thanks as always to @andy4040.bsky.social for the extra specimen loans!

A huge Japanese Spider Crab from 100 yeas ago. @morethanadodo.bsky.social Magnificient specimen in the Museum of Natural History Oxford.

In Summer 2024, a team of palaeontologists and geologists undertook an expedition to the Little Dal Group in the Mackenzie Mountains, Northwest Territories, Canada. Their purpose was to uncover some of the oldest fossil ecosystems that record complex life.

If you follow the geologists around while they’re moving specimens, you can ask ‘what’s that?’ about 100 times and find cool rocks like this septarian nodule

is back at one of my favourite places in the whole world, The Oxford University Museum of Natural History @morethanadodo.bsky.social

Imagine a drop of ancient resin. Inside is an insect, trapped for 53 million years, so well preserved it looks like it might twitch back into life. These amber fossils offer us a breath-taking glimpse into long vanished ecosystems. But there’s a catch

Exit, pursued by a bear

Ever fancied walking around the Museum at night? We’ll be open late for the @pittriversmuseum.bsky.social Late Night this Friday. Book your free tickets now www.prm.ox.ac.uk/event/museum...

#IronworkThursday @morethanadodo.bsky.social

Thanks to @hedgehoghugh.bsky.social for these photos of @elliewilsonuk.bsky.social's Moth x Human. Feedback link: bit.ly/4q8l3Re Co-promoted by OCM, IF Oxford & @morethanadodo.bsky.social. @ukceh.bsky.social @artscouncilengland.bsky.social @prsfoundation.bsky.social @ppluk.bsky.social

Museum researcher Frankie Dunn has a funded research placement opportunity with @charnwoodforest.bsky.social ! Applications are now open! The project is part time (14 hours per week) over 12 weeks and the researcher will be receive a stipend of £1,300 www.charnwoodforest.org/collaborator...

We returned to the Quarry this summer with @unibirmingham.bsky.social and uncovered some more amazing dinosaur trackways! www.bbc.co.uk/news/resourc...

George Morrow, Punch, 1921, Volume 160, p140 @morethanadodo.bsky.social

N is for... Nantan meteorite! This meteorite is approximately 4.5 billion years old! It is also one of our touchable specimens here at the Museum. It is thought to have fallen to Earth from the asteroid belt between Mars and Jupiter in 1516, but this fragment was not found until 1958.

M is for... Museum of Natural History! We were the first purpose-built natural history museums, having opened our doors to our iconic building in 1860. We are now home to over 7 million specimens.

L is for... Lithograph! A lithograph is a stone with an image drawn out in a greasy material, and the surrounding stone is etched out to create a water-receptive surface. The ink will only adhere to the drawing, allowing for printing of an image, as shown here in Breaking Ground.

K is for... Koala! One major threat to koalas is actually chlamydia infections, with some populations having up to a 70% infection rate. Luckily a new vaccine has just been approved to prevent further infections. Chlamydia has been responsible for nearly 50% of koala deaths in recent years.

Our Winter Lecture series is back for 2025/26! Our first talk is Monday 13th October, 7pm at Oxford's Natural History Museum. Dr Kat Almeida-Warren is going to be talking about chimpanzee cultures, archaeology, and conservation. It's going to be fascinating, hope to see you all there!

J is for… Jade! Oftentimes rocks and minerals used for decorative purposes have a different classification in geology. Jade refers to two different minerals, nephrite, and the more valuable jadeite.

I is for... Ichthyosaur! This extinct marine reptile lived during the Jurassic, and this specimen measures nearly 6 meters long! It was found in Lyme Regis, Dorset and within it's fossilized skeleton you can see ammonite shells.

H is for... Hodgkin! Dorothy Crowfoot Hodgkin is still the only British woman scientist to have been awarded a Nobel Prize. She won the Nobel in chemistry in 1964 for mapping the structure of vitamin B12. She also mapped the structure of Penicillin and Insulin through X-ray crystallography.

Today is National Poetry Day and we thought it was a lovely day to acknowledge the poem written by Simon Armitage which was commissioned by the Museum to celebrate the 200th anniversary of the discovery of the naming of the first dinosaur, Megalosaurus.

G is for... Giant ground sloth! This extinct mammal lived during the Pleistocene in South America. It could weight up to 4,000 kilograms and reach 6 meters in length.