The Oxford University Museum of Natural History on Parks Road occupies a spectacular Victorian Gothic building opened in 1860, with a soaring cast-iron roof and stone columns made from different British rocks. The main hall is an architectural highlight in itself — the result of a design competition that prioritised Gothic style over everything else, at a time when Gothic was considered the correct architecture for serious knowledge. Free admission.
The museum holds important collections of dinosaur fossils, including the first specimens of Megalosaurus to be scientifically described, as well as the most complete remains of a dodo bird in existence (one skull and one foot). The zoological collections are strong, and the entomological holdings are among the best in Europe. Most visitors pass through this museum on their way to the Pitt Rivers at the back — but the natural history collections deserve more attention than they usually receive.