Official UK procurement notice
Gallery 33 - Principal Contractor
Authority: Natural History Museum (Central government)
What is being bought
Published requirement descriptionIn September 2027, we will open a new, permanent gallery at South Kensington dedicated to building a positive connection to nature in our very youngest audiences - aged 4-7 years old - and their adults. This brand-new gallery will be a place where visitors delight in the dazzling variety of life on Earth, from the very small to the very tall, and discover that all life – including us! – share the same needs. We all need to breathe, eat, move, communicate and grow to survive and often depend on each other to do this. Together, we are all part of this great, big, weird and wonderful natural world. It will deliver inspiring stories that celebrate diversity and welcome in the widest possible audience of children and their adults. It will combine our world-leading collections, with hands-on and multi-sensory interactives that evoke joy, empathy and care. This project supports our Strategy and Mission to 2031 and our vision of a future where both people and the planet thrive, with a mission to create advocates for the planet. By appealing to visitors’ sense of kindness, their curiosity, and their imagination, this gallery will lay the foundations of advocacy for nature at a young age, foster a lifelong appreciation of the natural world and build a positive connection to nature in early childhood.
Read the full description (761 more characters)
Gallery 33 (working title) will replace the current Creepy Crawlies gallery on the ground floor the Grade 1 listed Waterhouse East Building and refurbishing the space for the new exhibition. It will open in September 2027 as a free, permanent gallery, and is expected to welcome millions of visitors over a 25-year lifespan. This is a once-in-a-lifetime opportunity to create a new gallery which positions children at the heart of our Museum and inspire the next generation of children to start their lifelong journey of advocacy for the planet.
The Natural History Museum wishes to secure the services of a Principal Contractor to undertake the exhibition fit-out, including sub-contracting the services of an AV Integrator and specialist showcase manufacturer.
CPV: Construction work for art and cultural buildings · Construction work for buildings relating to exhibitions · Library, archives, museums and other cultural services · Museum construction work · Museum services · Museum-exhibition services
The lotProcurement structure
single lot · no lot value publishedLot #1Lot 1Planned
Procedure terms & legal framework
From the official record- Legal basis
- UKPGA · 2023/54 Procurement Act 2023
- Procurement category
- Works
- Notice status
- Planned procurement
- Procurement threshold
- Below threshold
- Regulatory regime
- Standard
- Commercial structure
- Stand-alone contract (no framework)
- Competition type
- Competitive procedure
- GPA / WTO covered
- Unspecified in notice
- Recurring procurement
- No (one-off requirement)
- First published
- 14 Sept 2026, 11:47 BST
- Last source update
- 14 Sept 2026, 11:47 BST
- Latest notice
- Preliminary market engagement notice (UK2)
- Classification (CPV)
- Delivery area
- Official registry OCID
ocds-h6vhtk-06f815
How it was run
- Submission deadline
- —
Timeline
4 published dates · Europe/London- Planning notice published8 days ago11 Sept 2026, 13:30 BST
- Latest notice published5 days ago14 Sept 2026, 11:47 BST
- Market engagementin 11 days30 Sept 2026, 23:59 BST
We will be going out to tender at the end of October and are keen to gauge interest and availability to respond to the tender and carry out the scope of works to programme. We invite potential bidders to complete a short survey to provide some information about their experience and capacity, and more…
to provide input into some elements of the tender requirements. https://forms.cloud.microsoft/e/RgDNL4DvGQ The survey closes 5pm, Wednesday 30 September. - Contract startsin 107 days4 Jan 2027, 00:00 GMT
Commercial outcome & contract awards
Pipeline notice- Awards (0)
- No award published
- Contracts (0)
- No contract published
- Bid statistics
- No aggregate bid statistics published
Notice history
2 events · 2 releases on Find a Tender · since 11 Sept 2026- Preliminary market engagement notice published14 Sept 2026, 11:47 BSTUK2
- Preliminary market engagement notice published11 Sept 2026, 13:30 BSTUK2
Contracting authority & participating public bodies
Official documents & specifications (2)
Official links; attachments are not copiedNotices published for this procedure
- Preliminary market engagement notice Preliminary market engagement notice on Find a Tender
- Preliminary market engagement notice Preliminary market engagement notice on Find a Tender