The Presentation

London
Natural History Museum
There’s no doubt that when it comes to
museums, London has lots of options to
choose from – but one museum that
should be on every visitor’s plan is the
Natural History Museum in South
Kensington. This beautiful museum is
famous for its stunning architecture and
dinosaurs exhibit, and here are a few
things you might not know about it. The
museum’s collection includes more than
70 million biological items, 55 million
animal exhibits, nine million
archaeological artefacts and 500,000
rocks and minerals. Around four million
people visit the museum every year.
With so many items in the museum’s
collection, it’s not possible to put
everything on display.
The origins of the Natural History
Museum go back to 1753 when Sir
Hans Sloane left his extensive
collection to the nation. Originally,
the items were housed in the British
Museum, but by 1860, Sir Richard
Owen had convinced the government
that a new building was needed. The
competition was held to design the
new museum and the winning door
was offered by Captain Frances
Fowke, a civil engineer who died
shortly afterwards. So, the project was
taken over by Alfred Waterhouse. He
developed the plans significantly,
adding the characteristic facades and
elegant decorations that the building
has become famous for.
So, if you are interested in museums,
you should visit this attractive place.
Palace of Westminster
Inside the palace, you'll find
a hair salon, pub, rooftop
hideaway, gym and post
office. The palace includes
lots of important historical
art and cultural collections
including a copy of the
Magna Carta and hundreds
of royal and parliamentarian
portraits. The Elizabeth
Tower took 34 years to
build. It's 96 meters tall and
its elegant tower is
decorated with an orb and
cross showered with
thousands of stars. And yes,
it's all painted in golf leaf –
only the best for our
Elizabeth.
Big Ben has rarely stopped.
Even after a bomb destroyed the
Commons chamber during the
Second World War, the clock
tower survived and Big Ben
continued to strike the hours.
The chimes of Big Ben were
first broadcast by the BBC on
31 December 1923, a tradition
that continues to this day. The
Latin words under the clockface
read DOMINE SALVAM FAC
REGINAM NOSTRAM
VICTORIAM PRIMAM, which
means "O Lord, keep safe our
Queen Victoria the First". Each
dial is seven metres in diameter
and There are 312 pieces of
glass in each clock dial.
Thanks for your attention