National Museum Of Natural History - History, Timings & Entry Fee

At a distance of 3 km from New Delhi Railway Station, The National Museum of Natural History or NMNH is situated within the FICCI building on Barakhamba Road just opposite the Embassy of Nepal and very close to Connaught Place. The museum functions under the Ministry of Environment and Forests of the Government of India. This is one of the two Natural History Museums in India (other one being at Mysore). A visit to this museum is one of the famous Delhi sightseeing places.

The NMNH was created in 1972 as part of the celebration of the 25th year of India's independence. The Museum was conceptualized by Late Smt. Indira Gandhi, the former Prime minister of India with the idea to make people aware of the rich flora and fauna India has. It was inaugurated and opened to the general public on 5th June 1978, the World Environment Day.

The museum introduces the visitors to natural history, ecology and environment with plenty of examples from nature and various aspects of conservation of forest, wildlife, land, water and air. This museum also has a large collection of stuffed animals and birds.

National Museum of Natural History displays a life size model of dinosaur and has four galleries inside it. The first gallery provides a basic idea about the origin and evolution of life and presents the variety and diversity of the flora and fauna of our country. The second gallery on Nature's Network Ecology presents an overview of major ecosystems of the world, role of plants as primary producers, food chains and many more.

The third gallery focuses on Conservation and presents the utmost importance of various types of ecosystems and the harm caused to the environment by the human. It showcases the view of a land that is dressed with thick forest and hence is rich in soil, plant life and natural resources while the one without the forest is seen as a barren and nude terrain and thus highlights the harmful effect of deforestation.

The fourth gallery is based on Cells and Tissues. It displays the difference in the structure, function, defense mechanism, diversity, organization within tissues and the genetic variance of cells between humans, plants and animals. The museum also has a Discovery Room. In this room, children get a chance to handle specimens along with undertaking creative activities like animal modeling.

The museum also comprises of a Bio-Science Computer Room, an Activity Room and a Mobile Museum and so on. The Discovery Room and Activity Room specialize in hosting various events and educational activities such as examining specimens, clay model making, painting, jigsaw puzzles and many other activities relating to our natural history and their importance which are both educative and enjoyable for children. An added attraction of the museum is a film show that is held every day between 11:30 am to 3:30 pm.

Timings: 10 AM to 5 PM, closed on Mondays and public holidays.