Osaka Science Museum
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science museum A science museum is a museum devoted primarily to science. Older science museums tended to concentrate on static displays of objects related to natural history, paleontology, geology, industry and industrial machinery, etc. Modern trends in mu ...
in
Naka-no-shima is a 3 km long and 50 hectares narrow sandbank in Kita-ku, Osaka city, Japan, that divides the Kyū-Yodo into the Tosabori and Dōjima rivers. Many governmental and commercial offices (including the city hall of Osaka), museums and other ...
, Kita-ku,
Osaka is a designated city in the Kansai region of Honshu in Japan. It is the capital of and most populous city in Osaka Prefecture, and the third most populous city in Japan, following Special wards of Tokyo and Yokohama. With a population of 2. ...
,
Japan Japan ( ja, 日本, or , and formally , ''Nihonkoku'') is an island country in East Asia. It is situated in the northwest Pacific Ocean, and is bordered on the west by the Sea of Japan, while extending from the Sea of Okhotsk in the north ...
. The museum is located between the Dōjima River and the Tosabori River, above Osaka's subterranean National Museum of Art. Opened in 1989, the museum was constructed to mark the 100th anniversary of Osaka City. The construction was funded through a 6.5 billion yen donation toward building costs from
Kansai Electric , also known as , is an electric utility with its operational area of Kansai region, Japan (including the Keihanshin megalopolis). The Kansai region is Japan's second-largest industrial area, and in normal times, its most nuclear-reliant. Befo ...
. Its theme is "The Universe and Energy". Before the war a similar museum opened in 1937. It was known as the Osaka City Electricity Science Museum and it was both the first
science museum A science museum is a museum devoted primarily to science. Older science museums tended to concentrate on static displays of objects related to natural history, paleontology, geology, industry and industrial machinery, etc. Modern trends in mu ...
and the first
planetarium A planetarium ( planetariums or ''planetaria'') is a theatre built primarily for presenting educational and entertaining shows about astronomy and the night sky, or for training in celestial navigation. A dominant feature of most planetarium ...
in Japan. The Science Museum's primary permanent exhibition consists of four floors of mainly interactive science exhibits, totaling 200 items, with each floor focusing on a different theme. There is also a live science show with science demonstrations several times per day. Like the rest of the museum, these demonstrations are in Japanese only and visitors may require prior scientific knowledge to enjoy them. The two secondary exhibits, both available separately from the primary exhibit, are a
planetarium A planetarium ( planetariums or ''planetaria'') is a theatre built primarily for presenting educational and entertaining shows about astronomy and the night sky, or for training in celestial navigation. A dominant feature of most planetarium ...
, which has a dome with a radius of 26.5 meters, the 7th largest in the world which projects the images of the heavens. In July 2004, the planetarium reopened after a renovation displaying the entire night sky as a next-generation digital image. The museum also houses a collection of scientific resources, including *Japan's first planetarium (a Carl Zeiss II model) *the Cockcroft-Walton accelerator *resources related to Seimikyoku, Japan's first full-fledged chemistry laboratory *pre-war electrical measuring devices Its collection of books and magazines for a general audience, largely on astronomy, is the most comprehensive in West Japan. The science building is the place where
Hideki Yukawa was a Japanese theoretical physicist and the first Japanese Nobel laureate for his prediction of the pi meson, or pion. Biography He was born as Hideki Ogawa in Tokyo and grew up in Kyoto with two older brothers, two older sisters, and two yo ...
created his theory on
meson In particle physics, a meson ( or ) is a type of hadronic subatomic particle composed of an equal number of quarks and antiquarks, usually one of each, bound together by the strong interaction. Because mesons are composed of quark subparticles ...
s, for which he was awarded a
Nobel prize The Nobel Prizes ( ; sv, Nobelpriset ; no, Nobelprisen ) are five separate prizes that, according to Alfred Nobel's will of 1895, are awarded to "those who, during the preceding year, have conferred the greatest benefit to humankind." Alfr ...
. At the time this building was part of Osaka University. It was also the first place in Japan where
radio waves Radio waves are a type of electromagnetic radiation with the longest wavelengths in the electromagnetic spectrum, typically with frequencies of 300 gigahertz (GHz) and below. At 300 GHz, the corresponding wavelength is 1 mm (short ...
from the universe were measured.


Construction history

*Founded— 1989 *Completed— 1989 *Design—
Takenaka Corporation is one of five major general contractors in Japan. Takenaka provides architectural, engineering, and construction services and has its headquarters located in Chūō-ku, Osaka, Osaka Prefecture. Takenaka has eight domestic offices in Japan with ...
*Total floor area— 8,920.79m² *Address— 4-2-1, Naka-no-shima, Kita-ku, Osaka-shi, Osaka-fu 530-0005


Curatorial History

*Tadao Nakano (first curator, former
Osaka City University , abbreviated to , is a public university in Japan. It is located in Sumiyoshi-ku, Osaka. It is one of the most prestigious universities in Japan regarding Applied Linguistics. The university will merge with Osaka Prefecture University to form O ...
professor) *Noriaki Takahashi (former
Osaka University , abbreviated as , is a public research university located in Osaka Prefecture, Japan. It is one of Japan's former Imperial Universities and a Designated National University listed as a "Top Type" university in the Top Global University Project. ...
professor) *Kenichi Kato (former) *Yoshihiko Saito(current)


Hours of operation

The Science Museum's official hours of operation are 9:30am to 5:00pm. It is closed on Mondays, but makes exceptions for
national holidays National holiday may refer to: * National day, a day when a nation celebrates a very important event in its history, such as its establishment *Public holiday A public holiday, national holiday, or legal holiday is a holiday generally establishe ...
. It is also closed for maintenance between December 28 and January 4.


Transport access

*
Keihan Electric Railway , known colloquially as the , , or simply , is a major Japanese private railway operator in Osaka, Kyoto, and Shiga Prefectures. The transit network includes seven lines; four main lines with heavy rolling stock, two interurban lines, and a funic ...
Nakanoshima Line The is a railway line operated by the Keihan Electric Railway in Osaka, Japan. It opened on October 19, 2008, and has a ruling grade of 1 in 25 (4%). Services The following services operate on the Nakanoshima line, with through-running to/from t ...
Watanabebashi Station is a railway station on the Keihan Electric Railway Nakanoshima Line in Kita-ku, Osaka, Japan, and opened on October 19, 2008 (the day of the opening of the Nakanoshima Line). Station layout An island platform serving two tracks is located on ...
— Around 300m west *
Osaka Municipal Subway The is a major rapid transit system in the Osaka Metropolitan Area of Japan, operated by the Osaka Metro Company, Ltd. It serves the city of Osaka and the adjacent municipalities of Higashiosaka, Kadoma, Moriguchi, Sakai, Suita, and Yao. O ...
Yotsubashi Line The is an underground rapid transit line in Osaka, Japan, operated by Osaka Metro. The line connects Umeda, Hommachi, Yotsubashi, Namba, Daikokuchō and Suminoe, and runs parallel to the Midōsuji Line from Daikokuchō to Nishi-Umeda. Its offic ...
Higobashi Station is a railway station on the Osaka Metro Yotsubashi Line in Nishi-ku, Osaka, Japan. Connecting line *Keihan Railway Nakanoshima Line (Watanabebashi Station) Layout There is an island platform with two tracks on the second basement. Surroundi ...
— Around 500m west *
Hanshin Electric Railway is a Japanese private railway company of Hankyu Hanshin Toho Group that links Osaka and Kobe. It also owns the Hanshin Tigers baseball team. The first character for Kobe (神戸) and the second character for Osaka (大阪) combine to form the c ...
Main Line Mainline, ''Main line'', or ''Main Line'' may refer to: Transportation Railway * Main line (railway), the principal artery of a railway system * Main line railway preservation, the practice of operating preserved trains on an operational railw ...
Fukushima Station — Around 800m south *
West Japan Railway Company , also referred to as , is one of the Japan Railways Group (JR Group) companies and operates in western Honshu. It has its headquarters in Kita-ku, Osaka. It is listed in the Tokyo Stock Exchange, is a constituent of the TOPIX Large70 index, and ...
JR Tōzai Line is one of several commuter rail lines and services in the Osaka-Kobe-Kyoto Metropolitan Area, operated by West Japan Railway Company (JR West). The line, whose name literally means "east-west", runs underground through central Osaka and conne ...
Shin-Fukushima Station is a railway station in Fukushima-ku, Osaka, Osaka Prefecture, Japan. Line * West Japan Railway Company (JR West) **JR Tōzai Line ;Stations and rail lines near Shin-Fukushima Station *JR West Osaka Loop Line: Fukushima Station (no connectio ...
— Around 800m south *
Osaka Municipal Subway The is a major rapid transit system in the Osaka Metropolitan Area of Japan, operated by the Osaka Metro Company, Ltd. It serves the city of Osaka and the adjacent municipalities of Higashiosaka, Kadoma, Moriguchi, Sakai, Suita, and Yao. O ...
Midosuji Line and Keihan Electric Railway Keihan Line
Yodoyabashi Station is a railway station on the Osaka Metro Midosuji Line and the Keihan Railway Keihan Main Line in Japan. It is the nearest station to the Osaka City Hall (). Lines * ** (M17) * Keihan Electric Railway ** Keihan Main Line Layout Osaka M ...
— Around 900m west *West Japan Railway Company
Osaka Loop Line The is a railway loop line in Japan operated by the West Japan Railway Company (JR West). It encircles central Osaka. Part of a second, proposed outer loop line, the Osaka Higashi Line, from Hanaten to Kyuhoji was opened on March 15, 2008, an ...
Fukushima Station — Around 900m south *Osaka Municipal Bus Taminobashi stop **10 minutes from
Osaka Station is a designated city in the Kansai region of Honshu in Japan. It is the capital of and most populous city in Osaka Prefecture, and the third most populous city in Japan, following Special wards of Tokyo and Yokohama. With a population of 2.7 ...
on Route 53 or 75 *Osaka Municipal Bus Tosabori Itchōme stop **10 minutes from
Osaka Station is a designated city in the Kansai region of Honshu in Japan. It is the capital of and most populous city in Osaka Prefecture, and the third most populous city in Japan, following Special wards of Tokyo and Yokohama. With a population of 2.7 ...
on Route 88 **5 minutes from
Yodoyabashi Station is a railway station on the Osaka Metro Midosuji Line and the Keihan Railway Keihan Main Line in Japan. It is the nearest station to the Osaka City Hall (). Lines * ** (M17) * Keihan Electric Railway ** Keihan Main Line Layout Osaka M ...
on Route 88 *Hokko Kanko Bus Osaka Science Museum / the National Museum of Art, Osaka stop **10 minutes from Yodoyabashi Station on Nakanoshima Loop Bus *
Hanshin Expressway The is a network of expressways surrounding Osaka, Kobe and Kyoto, Japan. Operated by , it opened in 1962. Portions of the Hanshin Expressway about east of Fukae Station collapsed during the Kobe earthquake on 17 January 1995. These section ...
Nakanoshima-nishi Exit / Tosabori Exit / Fukushima Exit


Information on the surrounding area

*
National Museum of Art, Osaka is a subterranean Japanese art museum located on the island of Nakanoshima, located between the Dōjima River and the Tosabori River, about 10 minutes west of Higobashi Station in central Osaka. The official Japanese title of the museum transl ...
*
Kansai Electric , also known as , is an electric utility with its operational area of Kansai region, Japan (including the Keihanshin megalopolis). The Kansai region is Japan's second-largest industrial area, and in normal times, its most nuclear-reliant. Befo ...
*
United Church of Christ in Japan Osaka Church United may refer to: Places * United, Pennsylvania, an unincorporated community * United, West Virginia, an unincorporated community Arts and entertainment Films * United (2003 film), ''United'' (2003 film), a Norwegian film * United (2011 film) ...
* Daibiru * Rihga Royal Hotel *
Osaka International Convention Center , also known as , is a convention center in the city of Osaka, Japan. Located adjacent to the convention center is underground Nakanoshima Station served by Keihan Electric Railway Nakanoshima Line as the terminus. Past events *2001 World To ...
*
Museum of Oriental Ceramics, Osaka The is a Japanese art museum and regarded as one of the best ceramic-collections in the world. This museum collects, studies, conserves, exhibits and interprets East Asian ceramics, which mainly came from ancient China and Korea. The world-famo ...
*
Osaka Nakano-shima Government Building is a Cities designated by government ordinance of Japan, designated city in the Kansai region of Honshu in Japan. It is the capital of and most populous city in Osaka Prefecture, and the List of cities in Japan, third most populous city in Ja ...


Related items

*
Gakutensoku Gakutensoku (學天則, Japanese for "learning from the laws of nature"), the first robot to be built in the East, was created in Osaka in the late 1920s. The robot was designed and manufactured by biologist Makoto Nishimura (1883–1956, father ...
* OSTEC Exhibition Hall


Sources

Much of this article was translated from the equivalent article in the Japanese Wikipedia, as retrieved on November 22, 2006.


External links


Official website(Japanese:ja:日本語)

Official website(PDF file)
{{Coord, 34.69124, N, 135.49152, E, source:placeopedia, display=title Nakanoshima Museums in Osaka Science museums in Japan Osaka University history Museums established in 1989 1989 establishments in Japan