Editing National Museum of Natural History, New Delhi

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{{Infobox museum
| name                = National Museum of Natural History
| native_name         = 
| native_name_lang    = 
| logo                = File:NMNH New Delhi logo.gif
| logo_upright        = 
| logo_alt            = 
| logo_caption        = 
| image               = Delhi National Museum of Natural History.jpg
| image_upright       =
| alt                 = 
| caption             =  Museum exterior, 2011
| map_type            = 
| map_relief          = 
| map_size            = 
| map_caption         = 
| coordinates         = {{coord|28.626800|77.231560|region:IN-DL_type:landmark|display=inline,title}}
| former_name         = 
| established         = {{Start date|1972}}
| dissolved           = {{End date|df=yes|2016|04|26}} (destroyed by fire)
| location            = [[Barakhamba Road]], Tansen Marg, New Delhi, India
| type                = [[Natural history museum|Natural history]]
| accreditation       = 
| key_holdings        = 
| collections         = 
| collection_size     = 
| visitors            = 
| founder             = 
| director            = 
| president           = 
| chairperson         =
| curator             = 
| historian           =
| owner               = [[Ministry of Environment and Forests (India)|Ministry of Environment, Forests and Climate Change]]
| publictransit       = [[Mandi House metro station|Mandi House]], [[Delhi Metro]]
| network             = 
| website             = {{URL|nmnh.nic.in}}
}}

The '''National Museum of Natural History''' ('''NMNH''') was a museum focusing on nature, located in New Delhi, India. Established in 1972 and opened in 1978, the museum functioned under the [[Ministry of Environment and Forests (India)|Ministry of Environment and Forests]] of the [[government of India]].<ref name=about>{{cite web|title=About us|url=http://nmnh.nic.in/aboutus.htm|publisher=NMNH official site|access-date=15 September 2015}}</ref> The museum was situated on [[Barakhamba Road]] at Tansen Marg in central New Delhi,<ref name=zee/> across from the Embassy of Nepal, near the [[Connaught Place, New Delhi|Connaught Place]] metro station.<ref name=info/> On 26 April 2016, the museum building and its entire collection were destroyed by a fire.<ref name="fire_guts">{{cite web|first=Vidhi |last=Doshi|url=https://www.theguardian.com/world/2016/apr/26/massive-fire-guts-delhis-natural-history-museum |title=Fire guts Delhi's natural history museum  |newspaper=The Guardian |date=26 April 2016 |access-date=26 April 2016}}</ref>

== Mission ==
The NMNH's mission was to promote environmental education, both at NMNH in the capital and at Regional Museums of Natural History in other parts of the country; to provide resources such as school loan kits for schools to use in environmental education; to co-ordinate natural history projects with other agencies and organisations, both nationally and internationally; and to conduct natural history research.<ref>{{cite web|title=Vision & Mission|url=http://www.nmnh.nic.in/vision.htm|publisher=NMNH official site|access-date=15 September 2015}}</ref> The NMNH's director, B Venugopal, also emphasised "[[Masterpieces of the Oral and Intangible Heritage of Humanity|intangible natural heritage]]" (a concept invented by [[UNESCO]]{{citation needed|date=May 2016}}) at the museum.<ref name=hindu/>

== History ==
The NMNH was created in 1972 as part of the celebration of the 25th year of [[Indian independence movement|India's independence]]. [[Indira Gandhi]], then Prime Minister of India, said that India needed such a museum "to promote environmental awareness".<ref name=about/><ref name=zee/> After several years of development of its building and exhibits, the NMNH opened in 1978, on [[World Environment Day]] (5 June).<ref name=zee/>

Following a negative government report in 2012 regarding the building's poor state of maintenance,<ref name="fire_guts"/> in July 2015, plans were made to relocate the museum to a [[Indian rupee|₹]]&nbsp;2.50&nbsp;billion ($39.4M, €36.4M, or £25.3M as of July 2015) [[Green certified|green-certified]] building at [[Bhairon Marg]],<ref name=zee>{{cite web|title=New, futuristic natural history museum to come up in Delhi|url=http://zeenews.india.com/news/delhi/new-futuristic-natural-history-museum-to-come-up-in-delhi_1632613.html|website=ZeeNews.India.com|access-date=15 September 2015|agency=Indo‑Asian News Service|date=19 July 2015}}</ref> where "The [[National Zoological Park Delhi|zoological park]] is close by, [and] so are the [[National Crafts Museum]], [[Purana Qila]] and [[National Science Centre, Delhi|National Science Centre]]."<ref name=times/> Regional Museums of Natural History are located in Bhopal, Bhubaneswar, Gangtok, Mysuru, and Sawai Madhopur.<ref name=hindu>{{cite web|last1=Priyadershini|first1=S.|title=Fragile legacy|url=http://www.thehindu.com/features/metroplus/fragile-legacy/article2353951.ece| newspaper=[[The Hindu]]|access-date=15 September 2015|date=6 October 2012}}</ref>

==Destruction==
In the early morning of 26 April 2016, a fire broke out in the museum and destroyed the entire collection.<ref name="fire_guts"/> The fire, which began around 01:30 on the sixth floor of the [[Federation of Indian Chambers of Commerce & Industry]] (FICCI) building where the museum had been housed, eventually reached the second floor and destroyed all of the museum's exhibits before fire services were able to bring the flames under control.  Around 200 firefighters and 35 fire engines were called; they took more than three and a half hours to extinguish the fire. Six people who became trapped in the building were later sent to a hospital suffering from smoke inhalation.<ref name="IE">{{cite web|url=http://indianexpress.com/article/india/india-news-india/delhi-major-fire-breaks-out-in-ficci-building-in-mandi-house-2770475/#sthash.TUWqxxTz.dpuf|title=Fire destroys Delhi's National Museum of Natural History |newspaper= The Indian Express |date=26 April 2016 |access-date=27 April 2016}}</ref>

The cause of the fire is still unknown, although the fire's spread was fuelled by museum specimens and the woodwork holding them.<ref name = "IE"/> Reports indicate that the devastating effect of the blaze was due to the building's sprinkler system being out of order.<ref name="fire_guts"/><ref>{{cite web|url=http://www.ndtv.com/delhi-news/massive-fire-at-delhis-ficci-auditorium-37-fire-engines-at-the-spot-1399388|title=Delhi's National Museum of Natural History Destroyed in Massive Fire|first=Sonal |last=Mehrotra |date=26 April 2016|publisher=NDTV.com}}</ref>

{{missing information|aftermath of the fire (including the site)|date=April 2019}}

==Exhibits ==
[[File:Peacock-naional M.jpg|thumb|right|upright|A [[taxidermy|stuffed]] peacock on display, representing animals of India]]
Exhibits at the NMNH were focused on India's plants, animals and mineral wealth, and were divided into four main exhibit galleries: "Cell: The Basic Unit of Life", "Conservation", "Introduction to Natural History", and "Nature's Network: Ecology". The museum had an extensive collection of films on wildlife, ecology, conservation and the environment in general, as well as rare biological specimens, including [[herpetology|herpetological]] specimens, dinosaur fossils and mounted animals. There were also galleries on the origin and evolution of life, conservation of nature, the food chain and exhibits of flora and fauna.<ref name="IT">{{cite news |url=http://indiatoday.intoday.in/story/massive-fire-erupts-at-national-museum-of-natural-history-in-new-delhi/1/651547.html|title=Delhi Museum fire: Safety systems failed, priceless exhibits gutted |newspaper=India Today |date=26 April 2016 |access-date=27 April 2016}}</ref> A 160&nbsp;million-year-old fossil of a [[sauropod]] and stuffed animals by renowned [[Mysuru]]-based [[taxidermist]]s [[Van Ingen & Van Ingen]] were part of the museum collection.<ref name="TOI">{{cite web|url=http://timesofindia.indiatimes.com/city/delhi/Massive-fire-destroys-Delhis-National-Museum-of-Natural-History/articleshow/51988052.cms|title=Massive fire destroys Delhi's National Museum of Natural History |newspaper=The Times of India |date=26 April 2016 |access-date=27 April 2016}}</ref> 

The museum also featured a Discovery Room and Activity Room, specifically designed for children, where designated specimens could be handled by visitors. Guided tours, and specially designed resources for disabled visitors, were also available.<ref name=info>{{cite web|title=National Museum of Natural History|url=http://www.delhiinformation.in/tourism/museums/nationalmuseumofnaturalhistory.html|website=Delhi Information|access-date=15 September 2015}}</ref> Specific exhibits included a [[sauropod]] fossil, "a collection of bird eggs including those of the [[ostrich]] and the [[Indian vulture|long-billed vulture]]", and "stuffed animals including various [[big cats]]".<ref name=times>{{cite news|title=Makeover for natural history museum|url=http://timesofindia.indiatimes.com/city/delhi/Makeover-for-natural-history-museum/articleshow/48337714.cms|newspaper=[[The Times of India]]|access-date=15 September 2015|date=4 August 2015}}</ref>

Plans for future exhibitions, as of 2015, had included "climate change, global warming, combating [[desertification]], tsunami, [and] depletion of [the] [[ozone layer]]" as well as "more digital displays&nbsp;... [a]nd an [[IMAX]] theatre".<ref name=times/> The museum was also acquiring dinosaur egg fossils from [[Narmada Valley]], Gujarat.<ref name=whale>{{cite web|title=Museum after blue whale bones|url=http://timesofindia.indiatimes.com/city/delhi/Museum-after-blue-whale-bones/articleshow/48337718.cms|newspaper=The Times of India|access-date=15 September 2015|date=4 August 2015}}</ref>

==See also==
* [[List of destroyed heritage]]
* [[Rajiv Gandhi Regional Museum of Natural History|Rajiv Gandhi Regional Museum of Natural History, Sawai Madhopur]]
* [[Regional Museum of Natural History, Bhubaneswar]]
* [[Regional Museum of Natural History Mysore|Regional Museum of Natural History, Mysore]]
* [[Regional Museum of Natural History, Bhopal]]
* [[National Museum of Brazil fire]]

==References==
{{Reflist|30em}}

==External links==
{{commons category|National Museum of Natural History, New Delhi}}
* [http://nmnh.nic.in National Museum of Natural History official website]

{{Ministry of Environment, Forests and Climate Change (India)}}
{{Museums in Delhi}}
{{Disasters in India in 2016}}

{{Authority control}}

[[Category:1972 establishments in Delhi]]
[[Category:2016 disestablishments in India]]
[[Category:2016 disasters in India]]
[[Category:2016 fires]]
[[Category:Buildings and structures in New Delhi]]
[[Category:Burned buildings and structures]]
[[Category:Fires in India]]
[[Category:Museums established in 1972]]
[[Category:Museums disestablished in 2016]]
[[Category:Museums in Delhi]]
[[Category:Natural history museums in India]]
[[Category:April 2016 events in India]]
[[Category:Disasters in Delhi]]
[[Category:Demolished buildings and structures in India]]
[[Category:Museum fires]]