[5] An example in Booth's own notes describe the Gannet diorama as being 'copied from a sketch [of] the North side of the Bass Rock'.

[4][6] Booth donated the museum to the city in 1890 with the proviso that the display of over 300 dioramas should not be altered, and it was opened under Brighton civic ownership in 1891.

Crichton was chief physician to Tsar Alexander I and the Dowager empress Maria Feodorovna from 1803 to 1819, and as a member of the Linnean Society of London, collected plant and geological specimens in his spare time.

[8] They also include the South and Central American butterflies collected by Arthur Hall over 13 expeditions to the Americas between 1901 and 1939.

[12][13] The museum also has the skeleton collection of Fredrick W Lucas, featuring birds and mammals from around the world, including primates, dolphins as well as extinct species such as the dodo and thylacine.

[17][18] In early 2024, the museum added a new diorama - the first in 92 years - inspired by the city's wildlife, named 'Life in the Garden'.