The Natural History Museum has started building its new state-of-the-art collections, research and digitisation centre in Shinfield, Wokingham.
Located at Thames Valley Science Park, the University of Reading’s innovation campus, the new centre will house storage for 28 million specimens, around a third of the museum’s collection.
As a major research hub, it will provide digital, analytical and genomic technologies and facilities for the scientific community.
Highlights include an imagining and analysis centre with digitisation suites, molecular biology laboratories, conservation labs, specimen preparation labs, and cryo-facilities for tissue storage.
The Natural History Museum’s collections of mammals, non-insect invertebrates (such as corals, crustaceans, molluscs and worms), fossilised mammals and invertebrates, molecular collections, and micropalaeontology will be stored at the new centre.
Transporting these collections to Shinfield will be one of the largest moves of natural history specimens globally, the museum said in a press release.
Cutting-edge equipment and labs
The Natural History Museum’s director Doug Gurr said: “This ambitious project will transform the research capabilities of not only our 400-strong scientific team but also researchers around the world – accelerating solutions-led research into some of the greatest challenges facing the planet.
“The potential for this centre is boundless, from helping protect and restore critical habitats to finding the critical minerals to support the energy transition – it could even prove pivotal in preventing the next global pandemic.”
The centre has been developed in partnership with the University of Reading, known for its world-leading research in environmental science.
Vice-chancellor of the University of Reading Professor Robert Van de Noort said: “By developing this state-of-the-art facility at Thames Valley Science Park, we’re creating unprecedented opportunities for collaborative research that will help address the planet’s most pressing challenges.”
With the new centre, the Natural History Museum is making room at its South Kensington site for two new galleries, currently used as storage.
The facility in Shinfield will span the equivalent of three football pitches. Construction is expected to be finished in 2027, with the centre operational by 2031.
Images courtesy of the Natural History Museum
