Open House London - Go behind the scenes in Museum No. 2
-Kew is reopening Museum No. 2 (now the School of Horticulture) for the weekend, a building that has been closed to the public since 1960.
Museum No. 2 before its closure in 1960 (Image: RBG Kew)
Event details
- Date: Saturday 17 and Sunday 18 September
- Time: 10 am - 5 pm (last entry 4 pm)
- Admission: Entrance to this behind the scenes event is FREE, but normal admission prices apply for further access to the Gardens
- Entrance: Only via the Jodrell Laboratory Gate, Kew Road TW9 3DS. First come basis; queues are possible. Capacity 100 visitors/hour (how to find us)
- Contact: ecbot@kew.org
Each year Open House London sees the opening for one weekend of hundreds of buildings that are usually closed to the public. In 2011 Kew is reopening Museum No. 2 for the weekend.
Originally George III’s fruit store, the building was converted by Decimus Burton into the world’s first Museum of Economic Botany [useful plants] in 1847. It is now used as Kew’s School of Horticulture, having been closed to the public in 1960. Although the museum collections are now housed elsewhere, the School retains evocative and intact museum interiors, and visitors will be encouraged to step back to the 19th century.
There will be a special display of artefacts and specimens collected by 19th century explorers in South America and the Caribbean, Africa and the Pacific.
Visit Kew Gardens
What's on
Follow Kew
Keep up to date with events and news from Kew
Related Tags
- the UK
- interesting
- landscapes
- amazing
- beautiful
- english garden
- around the world
- adventurous
- irreplaceable
- ground breaking
- discovered
- challenging
- common
- flowering
- wild
- newly discovered
- new
- at risk
- endangered
- rainforest
- uncharted
- needs help
- together
- rich
- innovative
- powerful
- for kids
- inspiring
- medicinal
- weed
- edible
- tasty
- creative
- imaginative
- extraordinary
- ornamental
- exotic
- fun
- popular
- english heritage
- historical
- romantic
- rare
- valuable
- ancient
- of use
- massive
- scarce
- rare
- exploited
- fragile
- urgent
- useful
- active
- unusual
- collectable
- high
- old
- ancient
- Kew overseas
- donate
- for family
- gifts that help
- money saving
- popular
- remember
- save
- royal
- give money
- in urgent need
- sponsor
- Kew at home
- collections
- surveying
- wet tropics
- systematics
- chemistry
- diversity
- verge of extinction
- big
- useful plants
- mysterious
- Africa
- conserving
- fieldwork
- give time
- events
- treasures
- partnerships
- successes
- pretty
- fragrant
- dangerous
- high up
- wet
- essential
- drylands
- spiky
- brand new
- hot
- friends & family
- dry
- hot spot
- garden plants
- woodland
- business
- South East Asia
News from the Gardens
Visiting botanic gardens in the southern hemisphere
by: Anthony Hall, Arboretum team blog 22 May 2012
With the weather being so unseasonably cold in the UK recently, I thought I'd share with you some botanical warmth down under with the highlights of botanic gardens in Sydney, Perth and Singapore.
- 11 likes
- 0 comments
Director (CEO and Chief Scientist) of the Royal Botanic Gardens, Kew to return to Australia
14 Sep 2011
The Royal Botanic Gardens, Kew announced today that Director (CEO and Chief Scientist), Professor Stephen Hopper FLS will step down in autumn 2012 after six years in the job.