Museum No 1 and Plants+People Exhibition

Museum No 1

This Grade II listed building, overlooking the lake opposite the famous Palm House, was designed by Decimus Burton and opened in 1857. Its aim was to illustrate mankind's dependence on plants, and it housed the Economic Botany Collections augmented by Sir William Hooker, and included tools, ornaments, clothing, food and medicines.

In February 1996, the National Heritage Memorial Fund, financed by the National Lottery, announced the award of £1.4 million to Kew to help renovate the museum and it opened again in 1998.

Today, the upper two floors accommodate Kew's rapidly expanding education programme covering a wide range of activities from international diploma courses to school information services. The ground floor, open to the public contains the Plants+People exhibition, with collections on display in a dozen of the original mahogany cabinets.

Plants+People Exhibition

This fascinating exhibition highlights the variety of useful plants around the world and celebrates people's ingenuity and craft skills in using these riches.

Displaying some of Kew's diverse Economic Botany Collections, the exhibition charts some of the vital uses of plants:- as food and drink maintaining our health and well-being; their use for clothing and ornament; and as fuels, papers, toys and musical instruments.

By using interactive touch-screens, visitors can find out just how much they know (and amusingly don't know!) about the plants that enter their own daily lives.

Continue the tour

Back up to: Palm House Zone

Carry on to: Palm House Pond and Terrace

See also

Kew's History & Heritage: Museum No. 1