From Wikipedia:

Hope is the skeleton of a juvenile female blue whale displayed in Hintze Hall, the main hall of the Natural History Museum, London. It measures 25.2 metres (83 ft) in length, consists of 221 bones, and weighs 4.5 tonnes.

Born around 1871 or at least 1876–1881, the whale lived for at least 10–15 years, with a maximum of 20, before becoming stranded on a sandbar near Wexford Harbour, Ireland, in March 1891 and being killed by a fisherman two days later. Its skeleton was sold to the Natural History Museum, where it was displayed in its Mammal Hall from 1934 before being moved to the museum’s main Hintze Hall in 2017, replacing Dippy, a cast of a diplodocus skeleton.

From Wikipedia:

The Natural History Museum in London is a museum that exhibits a vast range of specimens from various segments of natural history. It is one of three major museums on Exhibition Road in South Kensington, the others being the Science Museum and the Victoria and Albert Museum. The Natural History Museum’s main frontage, however, is on Cromwell Road.

The museum is home to life and earth science specimens comprising some 80 million items within five main collections: botany, entomology, mineralogy, palaeontology and zoology. The museum is a centre of research specialising in taxonomy, identification and conservation. Given the age of the institution, many of the collections have great historical as well as scientific value, such as specimens collected by Charles Darwin. The museum is particularly famous for its exhibition of dinosaur skeletons and ornate architecture—sometimes dubbed a cathedral of nature—both exemplified by the large Diplodocus cast that dominated the vaulted central hall before it was replaced in 2017 with the skeleton of a blue whale hanging from the ceiling. The Natural History Museum Library contains an extensive collection of books, journals, manuscripts, and artwork linked to the work and research of the scientific departments; access to the library is by appointment only. The museum is recognised as the pre-eminent centre of natural history and research of related fields in the world.

Although commonly referred to as the Natural History Museum, it was officially known as British Museum (Natural History) until 1992, despite legal separation from the British Museum itself in 1963. Originating from collections within the British Museum, the landmark Alfred Waterhouse building was built and opened by 1881 and later incorporated the Geological Museum. The Darwin Centre is a more recent addition, partly designed as a modern facility for storing the valuable collections.

Like other publicly funded national museums in the United Kingdom, the Natural History Museum does not charge an admission fee. The museum is an exempt charity and a non-departmental public body sponsored by the Department for Culture, Media and Sport. The Princess of Wales is a patron of the museum. There are approximately 850 staff at the museum. The two largest strategic groups are the Public Engagement Group and the Science Group.

Image Details
Date: 9 December 2025
Camera body: iPhone Xs
Lens: Wide Camera 26mm ƒ/1.8
Focal Length: 26mm
Aperture: ƒ/1.8
Shutter Speed: 1/60s
ISO: 500
Licence: Creative Commons Attribution-NonCommercial-NoDerivatives 4.0 International

From Wikipedia:

Hope is the skeleton of a juvenile female blue whale displayed in Hintze Hall, the main hall of the Natural History Museum, London. It measures 25.2 metres (83 ft) in length, consists of 221 bones, and weighs 4.5 tonnes.

Born around 1871 or at least 1876–1881, the whale lived for at least 10–15 years, with a maximum of 20, before becoming stranded on a sandbar near Wexford Harbour, Ireland, in March 1891 and being killed by a fisherman two days later. Its skeleton was sold to the Natural History Museum, where it was displayed in its Mammal Hall from 1934 before being moved to the museum’s main Hintze Hall in 2017, replacing Dippy, a cast of a diplodocus skeleton.

From Wikipedia:

The Natural History Museum in London is a museum that exhibits a vast range of specimens from various segments of natural history. It is one of three major museums on Exhibition Road in South Kensington, the others being the Science Museum and the Victoria and Albert Museum. The Natural History Museum’s main frontage, however, is on Cromwell Road.

The museum is home to life and earth science specimens comprising some 80 million items within five main collections: botany, entomology, mineralogy, palaeontology and zoology. The museum is a centre of research specialising in taxonomy, identification and conservation. Given the age of the institution, many of the collections have great historical as well as scientific value, such as specimens collected by Charles Darwin. The museum is particularly famous for its exhibition of dinosaur skeletons and ornate architecture—sometimes dubbed a cathedral of nature—both exemplified by the large Diplodocus cast that dominated the vaulted central hall before it was replaced in 2017 with the skeleton of a blue whale hanging from the ceiling. The Natural History Museum Library contains an extensive collection of books, journals, manuscripts, and artwork linked to the work and research of the scientific departments; access to the library is by appointment only. The museum is recognised as the pre-eminent centre of natural history and research of related fields in the world.

Although commonly referred to as the Natural History Museum, it was officially known as British Museum (Natural History) until 1992, despite legal separation from the British Museum itself in 1963. Originating from collections within the British Museum, the landmark Alfred Waterhouse building was built and opened by 1881 and later incorporated the Geological Museum. The Darwin Centre is a more recent addition, partly designed as a modern facility for storing the valuable collections.

Like other publicly funded national museums in the United Kingdom, the Natural History Museum does not charge an admission fee. The museum is an exempt charity and a non-departmental public body sponsored by the Department for Culture, Media and Sport. The Princess of Wales is a patron of the museum. There are approximately 850 staff at the museum. The two largest strategic groups are the Public Engagement Group and the Science Group.

Image Details
Date: 9 December 2025
Camera body: iPhone Xs
Lens: Wide Camera 26mm ƒ/1.8
Focal Length: 26mm
Aperture: ƒ/1.8
Shutter Speed: 1/60s
ISO: 320
Licence: Creative Commons Attribution-NonCommercial-NoDerivatives 4.0 International

About the exhibition:

People travel for different reasons – from exploration and scientific discovery, to trade and colonial exploitation. Some choose to travel as tourists, others are forced to migrate. The gallery features original artefacts from the voyages of Sir Francis Drake, Sir Walter Raleigh, Captain James Cook, Charles Darwin, Gertrude Benham, Scott of the Antarctic and many others. An animated globe highlighting key journeys forms the gallery’s spinning centrepiece. Interactive touchscreens let you explore dozens more surprising journeys that began in Plymouth.

Image Details
Date: 18 September 2025
Camera body: iPhone Xs
Lens: Wide Camera 26mm ƒ/1.8
Focal Length: 26mm
Aperture: ƒ/1.8
Shutter Speed: 1/48s
ISO: 320
Licence: Image of a ‘The Box’ asset. This image cannot be licensed.

About the exhibition:

People travel for different reasons – from exploration and scientific discovery, to trade and colonial exploitation. Some choose to travel as tourists, others are forced to migrate. The gallery features original artefacts from the voyages of Sir Francis Drake, Sir Walter Raleigh, Captain James Cook, Charles Darwin, Gertrude Benham, Scott of the Antarctic and many others. An animated globe highlighting key journeys forms the gallery’s spinning centrepiece. Interactive touchscreens let you explore dozens more surprising journeys that began in Plymouth.

Image Details
Date: 18 September 2025
Camera body: iPhone Xs
Lens: Wide Camera 26mm ƒ/1.8
Focal Length: 26mm
Aperture: ƒ/1.8
Shutter Speed: 1/59s
ISO: 250
Licence: Image of a ‘The Box’ asset. This image cannot be licensed.

About the exhibition:

People travel for different reasons – from exploration and scientific discovery, to trade and colonial exploitation. Some choose to travel as tourists, others are forced to migrate. The gallery features original artefacts from the voyages of Sir Francis Drake, Sir Walter Raleigh, Captain James Cook, Charles Darwin, Gertrude Benham, Scott of the Antarctic and many others. An animated globe highlighting key journeys forms the gallery’s spinning centrepiece. Interactive touchscreens let you explore dozens more surprising journeys that began in Plymouth.

Image Details
Date: 18 September 2025
Camera body: iPhone Xs
Lens: Telephoto Camera 52mm ƒ/2.4
Focal Length: 52mm
Aperture: ƒ/2.4
Shutter Speed: 1/30s
ISO: 500
Licence: Image of a ‘The Box’ asset. This image cannot be licensed.