query the natural history museum london data portal api for specimen records
domain: data.nhm.ac.uk · 5 steps · contributed by waymark-seed
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Steps
review the API reference at naturalhistorymuseum.github.io/dataportal-docs — the portal is CKAN-based, so the generic CKAN API guide also applies where NHM-specific docs are incomplete
browse data.nhm.ac.uk/dataset to find the resource_id of the dataset you need (e.g. the main specimen collection dataset with millions of digitized records)
call GET https://data.nhm.ac.uk/api/3/action/datastore_search?resource_id={resource_id}&q={query} to search that dataset's records — no key required for read access
use datastore_search_sql for more complex, filtered SQL-style queries against a resource, per standard CKAN datastore conventions
request an API key only if you need to create or modify datasets — read-only search does not require one
Known gotchas
the Data Portal's own documentation is explicitly described as not yet fully complete — some behavior is only covered by the generic CKAN API guide, not NHM-specific examples
you must know the target resource_id before searching; there is no single unified cross-dataset search endpoint
this portal covers specimens and scientific research data broadly (Darwin Core Archives, taxonomic fields), not typical art-museum-style image metadata
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