LIVERPOOL.- World Museum’s beloved Dinosaurs and Natural World gallery reopened to the public on Saturday 14 February following a refresh, under the new name of Wild World: Dinosaurs and Natural History.
The gallery, which houses the museum’s dinosaur, animal and habitat displays, closed to the public in November 2025. When it closed, parts of the gallery dated back over 60 years, making it the oldest gallery space in the museum. As a result, the well-known space with its dinosaur and wildlife dioramas has become a beloved part of visiting World Museum, which turns 175 years old in 2026, for many generations of visitors and Liverpool locals.
With objects from World Museum’s botany, geology, entomology and zoology collections, the gallery has been refreshed with new showcases that offer a richer visitor experience and bring the natural world to life. Visitors can experience a glimpse into life in thick rainforests with hanging canopies, the lions and lionesses that prowl the savannahs of Africa, and the frozen, icy worlds of the Arctic, Antarctica and Patagonia. Journey past replicas of fearsome dinosaurs including the formidable carnivore Allosaurus and Camptosaurus, a herbivore built for survival among towering conifers and lush ferns – there's even some fossilised dinosaur droppings. Polar Bears and Arctic Foxes roam their freezing landscapes, giving an insight into how life has evolved extraordinary strategies to endure extreme cold. Travel past buffalos and hyenas and explore rainforests that are bursting with life, with birds and mammals living amongst the trees. The refreshed display also includes an updated version of a huge mural, first painted by local artist Tony Swift in 1987, and restored by scenic artist Holly Speakman alongside the dinosaur replicas.
Ashley Cooke, Head of World Museum, said: “World Museum receives over 550,000 visitors annually, and our Dinosaurs and Natural World gallery has long been one of the most loved and visited galleries in the museum. Year-upon-year, it has continued to welcome and delight young visitors. Wandering around the gallery, you can see grandparents talking to their grandchildren about how they remember it at their age, which makes it really special.
It’s so exciting to have updated the gallery under the new name of ‘Wild World: Dinosaurs and Natural History’ - showcasing a refreshed space with many of the objects that visitors know and love, with fresh interpretation and immersive technologies. We’ve also taken this opportunity to maintain and protect the objects, with the help of our curators and conservation teams, preserving them for generations to come.”
World Museum has worked closely with Studio MUTT Architects, an architecture and design studio based in Liverpool and London, who led the redesign of the gallery, reimagining how visitors can experience nature across millions of years of history. The museum also collaborated with Liverpool-based design studio Draw & Code, who produced an immersive virtual reality dinosaur world for the gallery. World Museum previously worked with Draw & Code on the record-breaking China’s First Emperor and the Terracotta Warriors exhibition in 2018.
Wild World: Dinosaurs and Natural History opens on the fourth floor of World Museum on 14 February 2026 and is free to enter.
