The Sedgwick Museum of Earth Sciences, located on the Downing site, is dedicated to exhibiting the diversity of plant and animal life around the world and across every time period. It opened in 1912 in memory of Adam Sedgwick, one of the founders of modern geology. However the collection started long before this when early geologist John Woodward bequeathed his fossil collection to the University in 1728. Since then, the museum has gathered around 1.5 million specimens.

This is a highly academic museum and a fantastic resource for any earth scientist, with cabinet upon cabinet of rocks, minerals and fossils. Admittedly, for the casual museum-goer, this can seem a little daunting or dull at first. But do not be put off – there are some absolute gems on display. One only has to step back for a moment, and consider the tremendous task this museum has undertaken, to realise they are looking at something extremely special: displaying over 500 million years of history is no small feat.

There is a range of dinosaurs on display. Some of the most impressive include an enormous Iguanodon skeleton looming by the entrance, and the skull of a Tyrannosaurus Rex. Tucked away on a wall behind a cabinet, it is easy to miss one of the most important fossils relating to the dinosaur world: the archaeopteryx. This provided the missing link between dinosaurs and birds, and is a crucial piece of evidence to support Darwin’s theory of evolution.

The museum’s chief interest in Darwin is as a geologist. He began to build his scientific credibility collecting fossils during a voyage of HMS Beagle. A display of his cabin aboard the ship contains his field notebook, microscope and an assortment of the samples he collected.

One area of the museum shows the variety of animal life found within East Anglia. Displayed is a 125,000 year old hippopotamus skeleton and various other teeth and bones which suggest that rhinos, bears, wolves and mammoths were also inhabitants. A highlight is the skeleton of a giant deer with an incredible antler span of 2.5 metres.

Hidden at the back is my favourite part of the museum: the Whewell Gallery. William Whewell was a brilliant scientist, philosopher and master of Trinity College. This gallery is dedicated to his work in mineralogy, and is home to a dazzling, multi-coloured array of minerals such as malachite and fluorides.This is not a highly interactive or decorative museum, but it does not need to be. Curators could have just selected the most exciting pieces to display, but I think that would be missing the point, and would ruin the fun of finding your own highlights among the collections.