The world’s biggest environmental challenges demand long‑term thinking. Discover how deep histories held in Reading’s museums and special collections are being activated to unlock new discoveries, using innovative research, partnerships and digitisation to shape the future of our planet.
Join our panel of scientists, curators, palaeobiologists, zoologists and museum business leaders at Fossils to Futures Live on 7 August 2026.
collections housed and stewarded at Reading
collections designated of outstanding importance by Arts Council England
specimens at our Thames Valley Science Park by 2031
From London to Reading, the Natural History Museum is building a pioneering research centre at the University‑owned Thames Valley Science Park (TVSP), housing 28 million specimens and powering scientific discovery through advanced digital and genomic technologies.
The Cole Museum of Zoology offers a unique snapshot of animal diversity through time. Our ongoing taxonomy and classification work produces high calibre digital data, giving scientists worldwide the ability to investigate species distributions and habitat associations with greater precision.
From ancient fossils and Greek pottery to the work of Samuel Beckett and the history of rural England, Reading’s rich concentration of internationally significant museums and collections offers a globally distinctive, interdisciplinary research platform.
Our museums and collections are free and open for everyone to explore.
ECR spotlight: Dr Jacob Gardner
Reading research has shown that a long-held ecological belief known as “Bergmann’s rule” did not apply to dinosaurs.
Our partners: The British Museum
Over 1.3 million objects in the British Museum’s Archaeological Research Collection (BM_ARC) provide research opportunities for our students, academics and the local community.
In the community: Romany heritage
Dr Neil Cocks is engaging Gypsy, Roma and Traveller communities with one of the UK's largest Romany archives, held at the Museum of English Rural Life.