Pitt Rivers Museum for Guides

Welcome to the Oxford University Museum of Natural History. This building opened in 1860 and has been used for scientific research ever since. Inside, you’ll see fossils, minerals, insects, animals and objects connected to the history of science.

Before we go in: please stay with your group, use indoor voices, and don’t touch the displays unless they say you can.

(Gesture towards the building) Take a look at the large windows and the pointed arches – this is Neo-Gothic architecture, a style that was very popular in the 1800s.

This gallery is one of the museum’s most famous areas. The dinosaur bones here are real fossils, and some are over 150 million years old.
The most important one is the Megalosaurus, the first dinosaur ever described scientifically. That discovery happened in Oxfordshire.
You can also see a T. rex skull and the tall Iguanodon bones. Notice how different dinosaurs evolved different shapes depending on how they lived.

You can let students explore freely here as long as they stay in this space.

This is one of the museum’s most popular objects: the Dodo. It became extinct in the 1600s, and the museum has the last remaining soft tissue from a real Dodo, plus this full-size model.

It’s the museum’s symbol because Oxford scientists were some of the first to study the bird properly.

Fun to point out: Even though we call it the Natural History Museum, the Dodo is probably the most photographed thing here.

These specimens were collected by Charles Darwin on the HMS Beagle. They were part of the evidence that helped him develop the theory of evolution.

You can remind students that before Darwin, people didn’t have a clear scientific explanation for how species changed over time. These objects helped change that.

(Optional prompt) Ask students: Why do you think collecting real specimens mattered so much for Darwin’s ideas?

Now we’re moving into the Pitt Rivers Museum, which is connected at the back of the Natural History building.

The Natural History Museum is arranged by scientific category, but Pitt Rivers is arranged by purpose. So instead of seeing objects by region, you’ll see them grouped by what they’re used for: weapons, masks, musical instruments, money and more.

One of the museum’s most famous displays is the shrunken heads. They are no longer just curiosities; the museum explains their cultural and ethical context today.

Look at the ceremonial masks too. Each one shows a unique cultural story. Some were donated by explorers in the 1800s, but we now think carefully about how they were collected.

(Prompt for engagement) Ask students: What do you notice about the materials or designs? How might they have been used?