A big sign at the entrance of the exhibition space reads "Fixing our broken planet" in capital letters, as people stand near
Anthropocene

Nine highlights of our Fixing Our Broken Planet Gallery

By Sara Echeverry

On Thursday 3 April, we’re opening our new Fixing Our Broken Planet Gallery. This will be our first new, permanent gallery in 10 years. From a parasitic worm to a Sumatran rhino, it’s packed with more than 200 specimens that reveal how we’ve shaped the planet.

Through videos, specimens and expert insight, it explores the biggest challenges facing our planet and the nature-based solutions that can help us to create a more sustainable world. Bring the whole crew along and join our mission to save our world!

Explore the biggest challenges facing the planet and discover science-backed, hopeful solutions that will help us to create a more sustainable world.

A jar contains parasitic worms in pale yellow shades

These parasitic worms preserved in spirit might seem small, but they’re deadly! They affect one and a half billion people across the world. Higher temperatures and rainfall brought about by climate change are now helping them to thrive with lethal consequences.

Our scientists are working in places including Benin, India and Malawi to stop the cycle of reinfection. Learn more about their efforts and the challenges they face as they test whether giving entire communities medication can put an end to parasitic worm infections.

A man  uses a screen from the interactive conversation starter as others sit near

Do you have thoughts on climate change or on how the way we live our lives is impacting the natural world? Are you curious about what others think about the issues that affect all of us? Well, our interactive conversation starter is the tool for you!

Explore topics such as whose responsibility it is to care for the planet, what actions you think are the most impactful or what changes you’re willing to make. There are no right or wrong answers. Join the conversation, share your ideas, compare views and gain new insights on how we can fix our planet together. 

A man reads labels at the exhibition as he stands in front of the skeleton of a marlin

When it comes to solving the big problems facing our planet, it can be hard to know where to start! So, we’ve done the research for you, from how to shop for clothes to what plants to grow.

As you explore our gallery, you’ll find helpful tips and tricks on living a greener life. Come along and we’ll show you the many ways, big and small, that you can make a difference.

A Sumatran rhinoceros on a light blue background

Come and see first-hand an open display of a taxidermy Sumatran rhino. Today, less than 80 individuals of this species remain in Indonesia. Once found all over Southeast Asia, these rhinos are now under threat from hunting and habitat loss. 

Find out how our scientists are using their Biodiversity Intactness Index to track biodiversity globally. This tool is helping them to protect the areas that this magnificent species calls home.  

A man looks at the skulls of a cow and an auroch behind glass in the gallery

Discover how global demand for livestock changed a whole species. As you compare the skull of a modern cow with that of its wild ancestor, the aurochs, see if you can spot the difference between the two.

These fascinating specimens reveal how we’ve shaped animals through breeding to serve our own purposes. Find out how farming livestock not only drove aurochs to extinction but also brought about massive changes in land use, risking more and more species every day.

A long plug of whale earwax in bone colour on a white background

Have you ever wondered what’s inside a whale’s ear? No? Well, our scientist Richard Sabin did and was surprised to find chemicals in there that were banned worldwide in 2004. 

Come and see this replica of a plug of earwax built up over the lifetime of a baleen whale and what it can tell us about the way our world has changed. This specimen has a lot to teach us not only about the life of a whale but about ourselves, giving us an insight into how ocean pollution has changed over the last 80 years. Find out why our scientists are waxing lyrical about the secrets it’s revealed.

 An African clawed frog on a pink background

Testing for pregnancies is so simple now, but from the 1930s to the 1960s this wasn’t the case in the UK. Back then a pregnancy test involved injecting women’s urine into a female frog. If the woman was pregnant, the frog would produce eggs.

In the gallery, you’ll see an African clawed frog preserved in spirit, just like the ones used in the twentieth century. Find out more about how this method worked and, more intriguingly, what happened when some of these frogs escaped.

A woman on a pink coat sits in the exhibition space as a man in the back looks at the speciments of two dogs

If you have a furry friend, you might have wondered what their impact on the planet is and whether there’s anything you can do to lighten their load. Our pets make us happier and healthier, and in return we want to give them the world, but this shouldn’t cost the Earth. Learn the most effective way to reduce their carbon pawprint so you can care for them and the planet.  

Three people sit next to each other, illuminated by the light of a screen as a bone is pictured in the forefront

Get introduced to young changemakers who are pursuing careers helping the environment and who are working hard to protect nature. Eavesdrop on their conversations to find out what they’re doing and what inspires them. Their passion for the natural world is infectious, it shines through the screen so much so that you’ll come away feeling inspired.

Discover related events and exhibitions

Watch a pine tree grow in a matter of seconds and come face to face with a beluga whale in our new mixed reality experience. Be transported to the year 2125 and discover how our actions have shaped the future of the natural world.

Open daily

This series of events brings together young changemakers, activists and scientists to chat, challenge and come up with ideas about how we’re currently tackling the planetary emergency.

29 April - 3 May 2025

Explore the biggest challenges facing the planet and discover science-backed, hopeful solutions that will help us to create a more sustainable world.

Telling the incredible stories of life on our planet through powerful photography and expert insight.

Open now until 29 June 2025

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