The British Museum of Natural History (Natural History Museum) is located in the South Kensington area of south-west London, next to Hyde Park. The museum has a total building area of more than 40,000 square meters and contains about 70 million specimens from around the world, including 28 million specimens of insects. The British Museum of Natural History is the largest natural history museum in Europe. Originally part of the British Museum, founded in 1753, separated from the General Hall in 1881 and officially independent in 1963. It is located in the South Kensington area of London, a Victorian building, shaped like a medieval cathedral.