London’s Horniman Museum and Gardens is closing its Natural History Gallery for refurbishment works on 4 March as part of its Nature + Love project, meaning that the museum’s much-loved stuffed walrus will not be on show.
Victorian taxidermists originally overstuffed the Horniman’s walrus, which is located in the middle of the Natural History Gallery, so he lacks the typical wrinkles and skin folds of a walrus. The museum has reassured fans of the walrus that the specimen will continue to reside in the centre of the room when the gallery reopens.
The exhibits in the space will change as part of the gallery renovation to highlight how humans affect the environment. The rest of the museum and its gardens will stay open as the work takes place.
Nature + Love
The Nature + Love project intends to improve the environmental sustainability of the museum while also making it more inclusive and accessible. Parts of the gardens will also undergo modifications.
Explaining the project, the museum says:
“A love of nature and time spent in natural environments is a value we all share, and a value that has gained greater significance following the pandemic. As London’s only museum of global nature and culture, the Horniman is in a unique position to engage a wider range of people with its heritage collections and the natural world.
“Research shows that appealing to the love of future generations is the most powerful incentive for action in the face of climate anxiety. Supporting and furthering this connection between people and nature underpins Nature + Love. At its heart is the desire to use our visitors’ love for their friends, family, future generations and of the Horniman, to generate a greater love and understanding of our planet.”
As well as the revamping of the Natural History Gallery, Nature + Love will see the addition of a Nature Explorers Adventure Zone, with a nature-themed play area and children’s café, and a new Sustainable Gardening Zone with sustainable planting displays encouraging improved health and wellbeing.
The Horniman Museum was named the Art Fund Museum of the Year in 2022. Speaking to blooloop in 2020 about what makes the museum unique, director Nick Merriman said: “The Horniman is the only museum in London where you can see nature and culture side-by-side at a global level.”
Recently, the museum officially handed over ownership of six artefacts, including two Benin bronzes, to the Nigerian government.
