If you searched for "Our Story with David Attenborough" expecting an audio guide, stop. They are two different things. Our Story is a ticketed 50-minute 360-degree cinematic experience in the Jerwood Gallery, roughly £20 to £25 per adult, running until 30 August 2026. The NHM audio guide narrated by Sir David is a free 24-track SoundCloud tour of Hintze Hall that you play on your own phone. Same voice, same museum, very different products. Booking the wrong one is a common and expensive mistake.
This article lays out both side by side so you can pick the right one for your visit.
What "Our Story with David Attenborough" actually is
Our Story is a room-scale cinematic installation, not an audio tour. Visitors enter the Jerwood Gallery (Blue Zone), sit or stand in a large darkened room, and watch a 50-minute film projected across all four walls and the floor. Sir David narrates throughout, with subtitles on every performance. A Nick Powell score plays through 50 speakers. The technical setup uses 24 projectors.
Key facts:
- Opened 19 June 2025, originally booked through 18 January 2026, extended on 12 November 2025 to 30 August 2026 after passing 80,000 visitors in five months.
- Produced by Open Planet Studios (formerly Studio Silverback), Attenborough's long-time documentary partner.
- Capacity 95 people per show. Runtime 50 minutes, no re-entry.
- Recommended age 8+, minimum age 4.
- Seating is mixed: cushioned podium benches, backed benches, armrest benches. Visitors are welcome to move around; the piece is designed to be viewed from any angle.
- Accessibility: step-free access, subtitles on every show, a downloadable visual pre-visit guide, and monthly relaxed viewings on the first Wednesday and first Saturday.
- Ticket includes museum entry and queue-jump at the main entrance.
Prices (captured April 2026) run off-peak, standard, and peak bands. Adult off-peak £20, adult standard £22.50, adult peak £25. Children 4 to 17 are half price. NHM Members and Patrons get 50% off at every tier. A disabled person's companion is free.
What the "NHM audio guide" with Attenborough actually is
The product most tourists mean when they type "NHM audio guide Attenborough" is the free Hintze Hall audio-guided tour. It is hosted on SoundCloud, launched 10 May 2018, and structured as 24 short tracks you stream on your own phone while walking Hintze Hall. Each stop is roughly two minutes long. Attenborough introduces the specimen or theme and hands off to a named NHM scientist or guest expert for a short interview.
Key facts:
- Free, English only, no download or app.
- 24 tracks (Welcome plus 23 stops). Total runtime if played end to end is about 45 to 55 minutes.
- Covers Hope the blue whale, the giraffes, blue marlin, the Mastodon, Mantellisaurus, the Imilac meteorite, Hintze Hall's ceiling and architecture, and the four "wonder cabinets" (Explorers, Collectors, Founders, Preparators, Thinkers).
- Transcript is available on the NHM website for anyone who prefers reading.
- Location limited to Hintze Hall. It does not cover the dinosaur gallery, human evolution, the wildlife garden, or the Treasures gallery.
For a deeper walk-through of the free audio, see attenborough nhm audio guide and our Hintze Hall stop-by-stop guide at hintze hall audio guide.
Side-by-side comparison
| Attribute | Our Story with David Attenborough | NHM Hintze Hall audio guide |
|---|
| Format | 50-minute 360-degree projection-mapped immersive film | 24-track SoundCloud audio tour on your phone |
| Attenborough's role | Narrator throughout the film | Narrator introducing each stop, plus scientist interviews |
| Price | £20 off-peak, £22.50 standard, £25 peak (adult); 50% off members | Free |
| Length | 50 minutes, fixed start time | Roughly 45 to 55 minutes if played in full, self-paced |
| Location inside NHM | Jerwood Gallery, Blue Zone | Hintze Hall (the main entrance hall) |
| Booking | Timed ticket required, book ahead online | No booking, just open SoundCloud |
| Capacity / access | 95 per show, sold out often in peak weeks | Unlimited, anytime the museum is open |
| Equipment needed | None, supplied | Your phone and your own headphones |
| Languages | English with subtitles | English only |
| End date | Runs until 30 August 2026 | Permanent (last updated 2024) |
| Kids | Recommended 8+, minimum 4 | No age restriction; pace is slow and narrative |
| Photography | Not during the experience | Allowed in Hintze Hall as normal |
Which one should you pick?
Pick Our Story if:
- You want a cinematic, emotionally heightened experience and you are happy to pay £20 to £25.
- You have a pre-booked time slot and can commit 50 minutes.
- You are visiting before 30 August 2026.
- You are an NHM member (the 50% discount brings adult tickets to £10 to £12.50).
- You want something that works as a standalone visit with queue-jump entry.
Pick the free Hintze Hall audio if:
- You just want Attenborough's voice to accompany your museum visit.
- You are on a budget or visiting with a group where paid tickets add up.
- You want to move at your own pace and dip in and out.
- You are most interested in the specimens in Hintze Hall itself (the blue whale, the giraffes, the ceiling).
- You are visiting on a busy day when Our Story is sold out.
Do both if you have the time and budget. They do not overlap in content. Our Story is a narrative arc about the human species and the planet. The Hintze audio is a specimen-by-specimen tour of the grand entrance hall. Many visitors book Our Story for the afternoon and use the free audio to fill a morning in Hintze Hall.
Practical booking notes for Our Story
- Tickets sell out fastest for 10:00 to 13:00 slots on weekends, school holidays, and bank holidays. These are also the peak-priced shows.
- The cheapest adult tickets, £20, are Monday to Friday outside school holidays. Retirees, off-peak travellers, and anyone with date flexibility should target weekdays.
- Late afternoon shows (14:00 onwards) on weekends are standard-priced at £22.50 rather than the £25 peak.
- School groups: adults go free, pupils £8, booked through the NHM learning team.
- The experience is held in a single dark room with loud sound and moving patterns. Parents of very young children and visitors with sensory sensitivities should read the visual guide before booking and consider the monthly relaxed viewings.
Why the confusion happens
Three overlapping facts create the mix-up.
First, NHM has used Sir David's voice across multiple products for years, from the Dippy tour campaign to the 2018 Hintze Hall audio to the 2025 Our Story immersive. "Attenborough at the Natural History Museum" is not one product.
Second, "Our Story" contains no unique word that signals its format. Tourists reasonably assume anything with Attenborough narration is an audio guide.
Third, signage on site points to "Our Story with David Attenborough" as an exhibition without always making clear it is a ticketed cinema-style show in a separate gallery. Visitors sometimes walk up expecting to tap in with a general admission entry and discover they need a timed ticket.
If you remember one thing: free Attenborough audio is in Hintze Hall, on your phone, no booking. Paid Attenborough immersive is in the Jerwood Gallery, timed ticket, 50 minutes, dark room with projectors.
FAQ
Is "Our Story with David Attenborough" the audio guide?
No. Our Story is a ticketed 50-minute 360-degree immersive cinema experience in the Jerwood Gallery, £20 to £25 per adult. The free audio guide narrated by Attenborough is a separate 24-track SoundCloud tour of Hintze Hall.
How much does Our Story with David Attenborough cost?
Adult tickets are £20 off-peak (weekdays outside school holidays), £22.50 standard, and £25 peak. Children 4 to 17 are half price. NHM members and patrons get 50% off at every tier.
How long is Our Story with David Attenborough?
50 minutes, with a fixed start time. There is no re-entry once the show begins.
When does Our Story with David Attenborough close?
The run was extended on 12 November 2025 and now ends on 30 August 2026.
Is Our Story with David Attenborough suitable for kids?
The museum recommends age 8 and above, with a minimum age of 4. It is held in a darkened room with loud sound and bright projections across walls and floor. Monthly relaxed viewings are available on the first Wednesday and first Saturday of each month.
Can I see Our Story with a general museum ticket?
No. You need a timed, paid ticket for Our Story. The ticket does, however, include museum entry and a queue-jump at the main entrance.
Where is the free Attenborough audio guide?
On SoundCloud at the "nhmlondon" account, in the Hintze Hall set. Stream it on your own phone through your own headphones. A full transcript is available on the NHM website.
Author
Written by the Musa editorial team. Musa builds AI-powered audio guides for museums and reviews visitor-facing audio products across major UK and European institutions. We are not affiliated with the Natural History Museum. Prices and dates were captured from the NHM website in April 2026 and may shift; always confirm on nhm.ac.uk before booking.
If you want an Attenborough-narrated walkthrough that goes beyond Hintze Hall, we maintain a free companion guide that maps the NHM dinosaur gallery, human evolution, and Treasures hall. See the rest of the cluster for gallery-by-gallery audio coverage.