Rashi Mehta
A Geological Time Travel
The Natural History Museum in London has transformed its underused gardens into a breathtaking five-acre Evolution Garden, showcasing three-billion-year-old rocks and prehistoric forests. As visitors exit the pedestrian tunnel from South Kensington station, they are greeted by a rugged canyon of stacked strata, beginning their journey through geological time.
Dr. Paul Kenrick, the lead scientist, explains, “We want to get people to walk through geological time.”
Geological Wonders
The journey starts with Lewisian gneiss from the Outer Hebrides, followed by Torridonian sandstone, Cambrian quartzite, and Welsh heather slate. Visitors travel five million years with each meter they walk, experiencing a captivating evolutionary stroll through deep time.
This mineral gorge forms a striking entrance to the museum’s £25 million overhaul of its gardens.
A Living Laboratory
Designed by architects Feilden Fowles and landscape firm J&L Gibbons, the garden is an immersive odyssey through the history of life on Earth. It features a botanical timeline, showcasing the earliest mosses, liverworts, tree ferns, carboniferous forests, flowers, savannahs, and woodlands.
A lush pond teeming with wildlife is at the heart of the garden, providing a living laboratory for studying how life adapts to our rapidly changing climate.
Prehistoric Residents
A giant bronze cast of the Diplodocus skeleton model, nicknamed Dippy, now named Fern, stands elegantly among Jurassic foliage. Fern’s 26-meter-long body is cleverly engineered to float without visible support, making the creature appear lifelike.
Hidden critters, such as a shrew-like Megazostrodon, are scattered throughout the garden for observant visitors to spot.
Botanical Timeline and Geological Features
Benches of solid granite, pebble-encrusted puddingstone, white chalk from Northern Ireland, and other geological features mirror the botanical timeline, illustrating how what lies beneath the soil influences what grows above it. The rocks were donated by local farmers and construction sites, adding a historical touch to the garden.
Two new buildings have been sensitively incorporated into the landscape. A cafe pavilion, opening in September, and a classroom for school groups and lab space for scientists, enhance the garden’s educational potential. The cafe’s design echoes the geological timeline, while the classroom’s pitched, shingle-clad roof and rainwater harvesting system demonstrate sustainable architecture.
Enhanced Wildlife Garden
The former wildlife garden has been enhanced with an enlarged pond and a wheelchair-accessible sunken walkway. Big outdoor tables allow visitors to study the teeming population of water boatmen, dragonfly nymphs, and whirligig beetles.
Environmental and acoustic sensors will gather data to help understand how urban nature is changing.
A New Era of Landscape Design
The museum’s new garden contrasts with the lumbering Darwin Centre, built in 2009. The new project plants self-seeders, like birch, sycamore, and alder, in place of sterile paved spaces, transforming them into vibrant, resilient environments. This approach offers a blueprint for transforming similarly soulless spaces across cities.
The Evolution Garden at the Natural History Museum is a testament to the enduring resilience of life on Earth. It provides an engaging, educational experience, inviting visitors to ponder humanity’s fleeting presence on the planet.
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