25 years and going strong: The National Museum of Natural Science celebrates a quarter-century of existence

Words by Ruby Wu
Translated by Angel Pu

For the past 25 years, the landmark National Museum of Natural Science (NMNS) has cemented its position in Taichung as a top destination for residents and tourists alike. As the first museum of its kind in Taiwan, it has since 1981 studied and collected natural, cultural and historical relics from around Taiwan and the world, with a particular emphasis within its collections on the interrelationship between "Humans and Nature". This world-class facility is also designed to educate society and utilize the fun of science to inspire visitors. The success of this mission has been demonstrated by the fact that the museum's regular and special exhibitions attract almost 2.8 million people per year, making it one of the nation's most-visited institutions.

The six main venues of NMNS include the: 1. Space IMAX Theater--a unique constellation-simulator system and giant, semi-spherical dome screen that impresses audiences with the mysteries of the universe and nature; 2. Science Center, where visitors can discover the fun of hands-on science experiments; 3. Life Science Hall, displaying natural phenomena and the evolution of life; 4. Global Environment Hall, which introduces Earth's environment and energy, including striking multi-media presentations at the Bird's Eye View Theater, 3-D Theater and Environment Theater; 5. Human Cultures Hall, which educates visitors about local and world cultures, including large, outstanding exhibition halls dedicated to Chinese Science and Technology, Chinese Spiritual Life, Chinese Medicine, Taiwan Austronesians (indigenous tribes) and Oceania; 6. Botanical Garden, with its giant greenhouse and surrounding 4.5-hectare grounds presenting Taiwanese lowland ecology and tropical rainforest plants. Besides its collections and permanent exhibitions, the NMNS also regularly hosts temporary exhibitions based on special occasions, themes and collections. This, for example, includes the current "Cape Impressions: A Journey to New Guinea by Max and Nin-sheng Liu" exhibition which continues to Sept. 4, 2011.

This year being the centennial for the Republic of China as well as the Science Museum's 25th birthday, there are some special things planned at the museum. Over the past 25 years, NMNS researchers have collected over a million items related to zoology, botany, geology, anthropology and other areas. In what couldn't have been an easy job, this massive collection has been distilled into a selection of the most representative and precious 100 specimens and items, now on display at the museum's "Open Up the Precious: The 25th Anniversary of National Museum of Natural Science" exhibition, currently taking place at the 3rd Special Exhibition Gallery until June 12, 2011.

The "Open Up the Precious" exhibition marks the first time that the museum has displayed the best of its collections, covering various fields of research, and each of the 100 items has its own story and amazing appeal. For example, visitors will see "Myrmexocentrus quodrimoculotus", arguably one of the rarest longhorn beetle species endemic to Taiwan. There are only two specimens to be seen in the world, a female example in Japan and male specimen in the NMNS collection. Then there's a cross-section of the Picea morrisonicola Hayata Taiwanese spruce, which can grow up to 20-30 meters. This displayed tree trunk is over 430 years old, with detailed growth rings that tell the natural history of Taiwan from the 16th to 20th centuries.

Other "Precious" items on display include a plain-woven men's shell bead shirt from Taiwan's indigenous Atayal tribe. Its extraordinarily good condition makes it very rare and precious. On the geological side, the Hokutolite (Bei Tou Rock) is an extremely rare mineral, now almost impossible to find due to the geological changes at the Beitou geothermal hot springs. A zoological exhibit, the Indo-Pacific Humpback Dolphin has been listed as a critically endangered species by the International Union for Conservation of Nature (IUCN), with only about 100 of these dolphins left now. The displayed female specimen was found stranded on the coast of Miaoli county in 2009. And, finally, for a truly out-of-this-world display, there is a moon rock sample collected by NASA astronauts during the Apollo 11 mission to the Moon. In 1969, the US contributed some of these rocks to Taiwan, where they ended up in the Science Museum's collection.

Left: In the '60s Taiwan was the world's biggest exporter of butterfly processed products. This collage is made of various kinds of butterfly wings and portrays the Yami(Tao) tribe on Orchid Island and their Tatala boats. This work is also a proof of how many butterflies Taiwan has.
Right: This is an imitation Tang dynasty tea set. These are miniature mortuary objects made with talcum.

In additional to displays in the 3rd Special Exhibition Gallery, visitors can also see photos on a glass wall outside the gallery illustrating how NMNS researchers collect precious objects in every field, and how they document various creatures from around the world. There are also many skeletons of prehistoric creatures, whales and dolphins. And, to increase the exhibition's fun factor, there are cute life-sized stuffed animals as decorations. For visitors who would like guided tours, these are available daily from 10 a.m. to 1 p.m. during the exhibition period.

An outstanding feature of the Science Museum is its various forms of multilingual information. For foreign visitors, the NMNS has set up Chinese/English explanation boards in every exhibition gallery. Individual foreign guests may also visit the information center to borrow Denon-brand acoustic guide handsets providing recorded English and Japanese information about specific exhibition areas, currently limited to the Chinese Science and Technology, and Han People Spiritual Life exhibition areas in the Human Culture Hall. These visitors can borrow the handsets for two hours at a time after providing a form of identification as a security deposit (limit of 2 handsets per ID), as well as their name and telephone number. Groups of 15 or more foreign visitors can also register online or call (04) 2322-6940, ext. 289 to arrange English, Japanese and Spanish guided tours in advance.

National Museum of Natural Science
1, GuanCian Rd, North District
Tel: (04) 2322-6940
Website: http://www.nmns.edu.tw/ (Chinese/English)
Open hours: Tues-Sun 9 am-5 pm (ticket counter hours 8:50 am-5 pm)
Free admission hours: Wed 9-10 am (Space IMAX Theater, 3-D Theater and some temporary exhibitions still need admission fee)
Last admission: 5 pm
Botanical Gardens grounds remains open to 10 p.m. Closed Mondays (excluding national holidays) and Chinese New Year's eve and day. Hours are subject to change with further notification.

Admission fees (adults):
Galleries NT$100
Greenhouse NT$20
Science Center NT$20
Space Theater NT$100
3-D Theater NT$70
*Galleries include Life Science Hall, Human Cultures Hall, Global Environment Hall and Science Center. Tickets for the Space Theater and 3-D Theater include free admission to the Science Center. There are discounts for students with valid ID and groups. For more information, please call NMNS or visit the official website.