Portsmouth Natural History Museum
South East
Southsea

Get up close to Portsmouth's local flora and fauna - or even spot neo-tropical butterflies from much further afield.

Portsmouth Natural History Museum has been a family favourite attraction for generations - among both locals and visitors alike. The interactive exhibits allow you to get up close and personal with all manner of plants and animals; everything from today's garden visitors to prehistoric dinosaurs.

You can take a walk through the A-Z of Natural History, to see just how diverse and exciting the land around Portsmouth really is. The exhibits are certainly varied, having come from a collection of over 114,000 natural specimens!

Next, take a look at the working beehive, where up to 9,000 European Honey Bees busily produce honeycombs and raise their young.

A trip to Portsmouth Natural History Museum isn't complete without taking in the magnificent Butterfly House - especially during summer season. Here, you can see a host of neo-tropical butterflies on the wing, enjoying the optimum conditions that our top-of-the-range greenhouse offers. There's also a puparium where you can see pupae growing - and if you're lucky you may even see one emerge as a beautiful butterfly and take flight for the first time.

Butterfly season is roughly April-September, but check the website and social media channels for more up-to-date details.

Accessibility Information

The museum is wheelchair accessible and has accessible toilets. There is an Evac Chair for transporting people with mobility impairments in case of emergency.