With a mind-boggling 80 million items spanning five main categories: botany, entomology, mineralogy, paleontology and zoology on display, the Natural History Museum in London also functions as a world-renowned research center specializing in taxonomy and conservation. The colossal Victorian-style building is a work of wonder, and the library with its extensive collections impresses. Gawk at the skeleton of a blue whale hanging from the ceiling and let your eyes feast on about 300 diamonds of various hues at the Aurora Collection in the Mineral Gallery. For insect lovers, the immense Darwin Centre showcases 28 million insects and 6 million plants in a giant cocoon. Children will be delighted to see the animatronic T-Rex at the Dinosaurs Gallery and a skeleton of the dodo bird in the Cadogan Gallery. With so much to see, one trip may not even be enough!