Abstract
THOSE portions of the British Museum (Natural History) t at have been restored have been re-opened to the public. The hours of opening are 10 a.m.-6 p.m. on weekdays, and 2.30 p.m.-6 p.m. on Sundays. The/Museum suffered considerably from bomb-blast and fires resulting from air raids during the War. Eittle or no irreplaceable material was lost, as all the most valuable specimens had been evacuated to places of safety. But the Botanical and Shell Galleries were destroyed (the latter fortunately being empty at the time), and in many of the galleries exhibits were damaged, notably those of birds and mammals in the Western Wing. The Museum has been re-opened as soon as the minimum of essential repairs could be completed, but as yet the public can be admitted to only a few of the galleries on the ground floor, namely, the Central and North Halls, the Fish Gallery, the Insect Gallery, the Reptile Gallery and the Whale Hall. Selections of specimens from the more seriously damaged parts of the exhibition are on view temporarily in these galleries. As the work of repair and reconstruction proceeds, more galleries will become available for exhibition purposes and will be reopened.
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Re-opening of the British Museum (Natural History). Nature 158, 617 (1946). https://doi.org/10.1038/158617c0
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DOI: https://doi.org/10.1038/158617c0