Would you believe that all organisms on Earth, including humans, are related to each other?
We have a common ancestor: a cell which appeared billions of years ago in the water of the ancient ocean, began to reproduce, evolve and has been reborn in numerous variations ever since.
We are all shaped by the same evolutionary forces, built from the same material and function by the same principles. We, humans as well, are and have been shaped by natural selection.

As far as we know, Earth is the only planet where life exists.
Our exhibition pays respect to the variety of life to which we owe our existence.
The Hungarian Natural History Museum, as an institution focusing on the study and preservation of  biodiversity, now introduces a long-awaited new permanent exhibition: The Variety of Life. It  offers a selection of the most varied groups of organisms and displays the diversity of habitats in Hungary.
The exhibition contains hundreds of original objects, several life-sized reconstructions and many photos to illustrate the variety of landscapes, the species-rich habitats and the genetic diversity of species. In our well known Ark, you can stroll among hundreds of original specimens from the most diverse groups: plants, molluscs, arthropods, birds and primates. While exploring Hungarian landscapes, you can learn about and understand the geological and evolutionary processes taking place in geohistory which played a key role in the formation of the habitats in Hungary and the development of species inhabiting them.

Arriving through the Main Entrance, the visitor stops under the hanging skeleton of a fin whale.

This specimen was caught in 1896 in the Atlantic Ocean, in the heyday of commercial whale hunting. In 1900, the skeleton was purchased from Vienna for 4000 crowns. The burn marks of the skull are from the 1956 fire that damaged much of the museum's collections. One of the jawbones served as an attraction in the interactive Discovery Room for years. The skeleton weighs about 2 tons, the skull itself is about 1 ton. This is the first time the complete skeleton is exhibited. The asymmetrical dome above the Main Entrance was designed with respect to the skeleton's shape. The suspension required special design and scaffolding. The beam holds the skeleton on 10 suspension points.

Africa has played an important role in the history of the HNHM.

Its world famous Africa exhibition of 1945 burned down in 1956. We have created an African papyrus swamp under the 14 meter diameter dome of the Main Assembly Hall with its most characteristic and mysterious bird, the shoebill stork (Balaeniceps rex). The thick papyrus forest is the home of the Nile crocodile (Crocodylus niloticus). The papyrus sedge (Cyperus papyrus) is the main vegetation species of this environment. There are other characteristic animals of Africa placed on the rocks of the pond like the royal python (Python regius), the common agama (Agama agama), the tree frog (Hyperolius tuberilingus), and the Sharpe's Grysbok (Raphicerus sharpei).

A wonderful world comes to life at about 60 cm "depth" below the 122 square meter glass floor of the museum.

The exhibit illustrates the main types and communities of coral reefs ranging from the fringing and barrier reefs of the shallow waters of Indo-Pacific coastal regions through the atolls to the deep water areas. The different communities form in the ebb-flow zones where the waves are harsh than in the protected lagoons of the atolls. The species settling on the flat benches vary from those living on steep walls of rocks. About 160 fish "swim" among the more than 200 species of corals and more than 1000 snails, mollusks, crabs, worms, sea urchins and sea stars give a sample of the most diverse habitat of Earth. The visitors can see live fish and corals, too, which are placed in fish tanks holding 13 000 liters of water.

Andesite belonging to the Miocene volcanic series if the Mátra (aged 15 million years) is excavated from the stone mine of Kisnána in the valley of Tarnóc.

Stone is mined for crushed stone, as an aggregate of asphalt concrete, but the mine produces block stones, as well. Holes in andesite itself may hide beautiful minerals. However, opal occurs at fissures in the outer edge of andesite. This huge specimen was found when the covering rock was removed. It measures 90x55x50 cm and weighs 300-400 kg. It consists of silicon dioxide, with some water content. Common opal at Kisnána forms thick masses displaying a play of color (yellow, green-brown, green-yellow). Its veins of color resembles to the veins in wood, but this is not a wood opal: the coloring comes from ferrous minerals. Most probably its material was deposited from hydrothermal (containing SiO2) solutions accompanying volcanic activity.This opal is not precious opal used in jewelry. The nicely colored pieces of common opal may be used for less precious jewels. Opal is a hard mineraloid which makes it difficult to process: it may easily crack when cut or polished.