If, like us, you were saddened by the permanent closure of the Natural History Museum's beloved ice rink — and indeed the retirement of Dippy — then here's the gargantuan silver lining: a five-acre 'dinosaur garden' is opening this July.
In fact, the official name for this ferny plot of land is the Evolution Garden. Free to visit, when it opens from 18 July 2024, it will tell a story spanning 2.7 billion years, with visitors invited to wend their way through sunken paths, along an immersive timeline of plants, geology, and representations of reptiles, birds and mammals.
Not only do many of the plants here look positively jurassic, the gardens also play host to a huge dinosaur cast. Here it is being moved into its new home:
This is not a real dinosaur skeleton, but a bronze cast of one. Still, it's set to be a huge new attraction for the museum — looking impressive set among Wollemi pines, dwarf ginkgos and cycads — and not least because people are still having Dippy withdrawal symptoms. (We're guessing a competition to come up with a name for the new tenant is forthcoming.)
Though the dinosaur cast might not have much life in it, it's hoped the garden will soon be thriving with wildlife — in fact newts and frogs have already been spotted.
The Evolution Garden is part of the museum's Urban Nature Project, and will also act as a 'living laboratory' — a hub where scientists and volunteers alike can develop best practices to protect urban nature. The gardens will be home to scientific sensors gathering environmental DNA and acoustic data, to monitor, understand and protect urban nature.
Let's make no (dinosaur) bones about this though: everyone's going to call this place the Dinosaur Garden. Either that, or Jurassic Park.
Evolution Garden, Natural History Museum, opens 18 July 2024, free
