Pokémon at the Natural History Museum: Dates, tickets, and how to get the 'Pikachu at the Museum' card

The temporary home to some incredible merch and the exclusive 'Pikachu at the Museum' card, the Pokémon × Natural History Museum collection will only be around for a limited time in London, so you don't want to miss the specific window of dates you can attend — if tickets are available.

A fun collaboration between the Pokémon Company and the museum, attending trainers have been allowed to sign up for a 'Pokémon pop-up shop experience', which is the first of its kind in a UK museum. While the initial wave of tickets sadly sold out after being announced last year, there is still a way to get some if you have a keen eye.

Here's all the key information about the Pokémon at the Natural History Museum event, including where to get the adorable oversized museum-themed Pikachu card,

When is Pokémon at the Natural History Museum? 2026 Dates

If you've been able to get a ticket, the Natural History Museum's Pokémon pop-up shop will be opening on Monday the 26th of January 2026, and running until Sunday, the 19th of April 2026 — giving you the chance to get the Pikachu at the Museum card.

Within that period of almost three-months, ticket-holding fans will be able to attend and enjoy the shop's unique theme of “Pokécology”, inspired by the real-life book: Pokécology: An Illustrated Guide to Pokémon Ecology. This original Japanese publication by Yoshinari Yonehara and Chihiro Kinoshita also has an English version launching on 21st April 2026.

How to get tickets for Pokémon at the Natural History Museum

To get tickets for the Pokémon pop-up shop at the Natural History Museum, and get the exclusive Pikachu at the Museum card, you need to claim them from the Natural History Museum website.

The link to the page can be found below:

• Book Pokémon x Natural History Museum tickets

However, at the time of writing, all tickets have long since been claimed.

Although, if you're really keen on getting that Pikachu at the Museum card and all of the pop-up's other merch, you can keep checking the website for any tickets that have since been cancelled and relisted; to do this, just click the ticket link above and then, on the NHM Pokemon page, click the "check back for any relisted tickets" option.

No tickets will be available at the door, either, so this is your only option left. If you happen to be planning on going with a larger group, you will need to make separate bookings.

How to get the Pikachu at the Museum card

An exclusive part of the Pokémon × Natural History Museum collaboration, the oversized Pikachu at the Museum card can be obtained by attending the event's limited-time pop-up shop as a gift with purchase — with only one being allowed per customer.

If you're unable to get a ticket and make it to the museum, the Pokémon website's news post featuring the card says that Pikachu at the Museum will also be "available at select UK retailers as a gift with purchase on 30 January".

Exactly which retailers this pertains to remains unclear, though we assume one will be the UK Pokémon Center website. Nevertheless, we'll update this page as soon as we know more.

That said, it's also important to note that Pikachu at the Museum is indeed an "oversize" jumbo card, meaning it's much larger than a regular Pokémon card and can't be used in the Pokémon TCG (or fit in most binders).

Where is the Pokémon Natural History Museum pop-up shop?

The Pokémon Natural History Museum pop-up shop will be in the Cranbourne Boutique at the Natural History Museum in London.

The museum itself is in South Kensington, just south of Kensington Gardens, with the closest Underground station being South Kensington, which is just a few minutes' walk away.

There are plenty of bus services too, and it is within walking distance of many other sights and attractions, such as the aforementioned Kensington Gardens, Kensington Palace, and the V&A Museum, which is right next to it as well.

That’s not even mentioning the Natural History Museum itself, which you could easily spend an entire day (or days) in.

What else to expect from Pokémon at the Natural History Museum

Along with allowing you to get the Pikachu at the Museum card as a gift with purchase, the Pokémon x Natural History Museum event will transform the museum's Cranbourne Boutique into a fully themed Pokécology pop-up shop for you to enjoy.

The Pokémon pop-up shop will be stocked with an exclusive collection that features "artwork, stationery, clothing, pins, bags, posters, and plush"; the latter refers to the amazing Pikachu Museum plush, where our favourite electric mouse Pokémon is hugging the NHM itself.

Other pieces we've seen from the collection so far include the above Pikachu tote bag, a poster themed around some of the franchise's fossil-based Pokémon, and a special set of pins.

For those who've been unable to attend the exhibit due to not getting a ticket, the Pokémon Company's most recent news announcement encourages you to sign up for the Pokémon Center newsletter to be notified when "select items" from the collection will be made available online; that's along with being made available at the Natural History Museum's Shop.

If you do manage to snag a ticket, your expected time slot will be around 30 minutes, which should leave plenty of time to explore the rest of the museum.

Read more on Pokémon:

• Pokémon Go Raids schedule - upcoming battles
• Best Pokémon gifts - the greatest merch
• Best Pokémon games on Switch - our ranking
• Best shiny Pokémon - the coolest creatures
• Best Dragon-type Pokémon - who's your fave?
• All cat Pokémon - the felines to catch
• Pokémon natures guide - all you need to know
• Pokémon type chart - strengths and weaknesses explained
• Legendary Pokémon - the full list
• Pokémon Scarlet and Violet cheats - handy hacks
• Pokémon Emerald cheats - what you need to know
• Pokémon Fire Red cheats - all codes
• Pokémon Go friend codes - and how to find them
• Pokémon games in order - where to start

Check out more of our Gaming coverage or visit our TV Guide and Streaming Guide to find out what's on. For more from the biggest stars in TV, listen to The Radio Times Podcast.