YouTube’s 19-second beginning is now preserved in a London museum

‘Me at the zoo’ officially becomes a museum artifact in London

The very first video uploaded to YouTube is officially part of museum history.

Me at the zoo, the 19-second clip posted by co-founder Jawed Karim on April 23, 2005, is now being displayed at the Victoria and Albert Museum in London.

The video, filmed in front of the elephant enclosure at the San Diego Zoo, has amassed over 382 million views in the two decades since it was uploaded, earning a permanent place in internet culture.

On February 18, 2026, the V&A revealed it had acquired the video along with a reconstruction of what its original 2005-era webpage looked like. The display recreates YouTube’s early design, complete with a white background, star-based rating system, and retro layout, a stark contrast to the modern platform.

According to YouTube, the acquisition helps “preserve and document the history and culture of the internet.” The exhibit can be viewed in the Design 1900–Now gallery at the museum’s South Kensington location, with additional behind-the-scenes material available at V&A East Storehouse.

The tribute comes after YouTube celebrated the clip’s 20th anniversary in 2025 by temporarily adding a cake icon to the video’s page, a nod to its status as the platform’s very first upload.

From a simple zoo clip to a museum artifact, Me at the zoo has officially cemented its place in digital history.