The Oxford University Museum of Natural History, not to be confused with the Natural History Museum in London, first opened its doors in 1860 and has delighted nerds (like me) ever since. Even before it was opened, it had hosted what subsequently became known as the Great Debate, in which Samuel Wilberforce, Bishop of Oxford, matched wits with Thomas Huxley on the topic of Charles Darwin’s theory of evolution by natural selection.
These days, the approach from the lawn is marred somewhat by barriers erected due to ongoing construction work at the site of Reuben College, the latest addition to this collegiate university. However, one can still see some Megalosaurus footprints on the front lawn, made from casts of fossilised prints discovered at Ardley Quarry, Oxfordshire in 1997.
This museum is probably my second favourite place in the city (after Blackwell’s). Pre-pandemic, I’d sometimes drop by for a short while to take a look at the dinosaurs, have a light lunch, and read at the cafe upstairs.
Like I said, I’m a nerd.
These photos were taken recently when I brought my family along for a visit. We also made our way into the adjacent Pitt Rivers Museum, although the kids were understandably less excited about all the stuff there compared to the dinosaurs skeletons found next door.
A bit about the photos themselves…
After importing them into the Photos app on my MacBook Pro, I decided to be lazy and simply applied the ‘Vivid Warm’ filter instead of making individual edits. I’m still getting used to this new workflow, having used Adobe Lightroom for quite a while, but so far so good.
Enjoy the pictures!
Imran Idris 