The is in the northeast corner of Ueno Park in

Tokyo Tokyo (; ja, 東京, , ), officially the Tokyo Metropolis ( ja, 東京都, label=none, ), is the capital and largest city of Japan. Formerly known as Edo, its metropolitan area () is the most populous in the world, with an estimated 37.46 ...

. The museum has exhibitions on pre- Meiji science in

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 n ...

. It is the venue of the taxidermied bodies of the legendary dogs Hachikō and

Taro and Jiro Taro (タロ; 1955–1970) and Jiro (ジロ; 1955–1960) were two Sakhalin Huskies which survived for eleven months in Antarctica after being left behind by the 1958 Japanese Antarctic Research Expedition. Due to poor weather conditions, the ex ...

. A life-size

blue whale The blue whale (''Balaenoptera musculus'') is a marine mammal and a baleen whale. Reaching a maximum confirmed length of and weighing up to , it is the largest animal known to have ever existed. The blue whale's long and slender body can ...

model and a

steam locomotive A steam locomotive is a locomotive that provides the force to move itself and other vehicles by means of the expansion of steam. It is fuelled by burning combustible material (usually coal, oil or, rarely, wood) to heat water in the loco ...

are also on display outside.

History

Blue whale Life size model. Opened in 1871, it has had several names, including Ministry of Education Museum, Tokyo Museum, Tokyo Science Museum, the National Science Museum of Japan, and the National Museum of Nature and Science as of 2007. It was renovated in the 1990s and 2000s, and offers a wide variety of natural history exhibitions and interactive scientific experiences. It was completed as the main building of the Tokyo Science Museum in September 1931 as part of the reconstruction project after the Great Kanto Earthquake. Neo-Renaissance style. Designed by Kenzo Akitani, an engineer of the Ministry of Education, Culture, Sports, Science and Technology, Building Division. The building is the most visited museum in Japan, and looks like an airplane when viewed from above. In addition to the exhibition hall, it has facilities such as a dome for astronomical observation and an auditorium. It is designed to withstand earthquakes of the Great Kanto Earthquake class, and it is said that there is no problem in light of the current Building Standards Act standards. In 2021, the museum organized the Pokémon Fossil Museum, a travelling exhibition based on the ''

Pokémon (an abbreviation for in Japan) is a Japanese media franchise managed by The Pokémon Company, founded by Nintendo, Game Freak, and Creatures, the owners of the trademark and copyright of the franchise. In terms of what each of thos ...

'' franchise, in collaboration with

The Pokémon Company The Pokémon Company (株式会社ポケモン, '' Kabushiki gaisha Pokemon'') is a Japanese company responsible for brand management, production, publishing, marketing, and licensing of the ''Pokémon'' franchise, which consists of video ga ...

. The exhibition opened at the Mikasa City Museum in Mikasa, Hokkaido, Japan, on 4 July 2021, and remained there until 20 September. It has since been hosted by several other museums across Japan, including the National Museum of Nature and Science, which hosted it from 15 March to 19 June 2022. A virtual tour of the exhibit as it appeared in the museum was also made available online.

Exhibition buildings

Nihonkan (Japan Gallery)

The theme of the Ueno Main Building is "Aiming for the coexistence of humankind and nature," and consists of two exhibition halls, the Japan Pavilion and the Earth Pavilion. File:Zalophus japonicus2.jpg , '' Zalophus japonicus'' File:Futabasaurus.jpg, '' Futabasaurus'' File:Nipponites.jpg, '' Nipponites''

ammonite Ammonoids are a group of extinct marine mollusc animals in the subclass Ammonoidea of the class Cephalopoda. These molluscs, commonly referred to as ammonites, are more closely related to living coleoids (i.e., octopuses, squid and cuttlefis ...

s File:Meteorites fell in Japan.jpg,

Meteorites A meteorite is a solid piece of debris from an object, such as a comet, asteroid, or meteoroid, that originates in outer space and survives its passage through the atmosphere to reach the surface of a planet or moon. When the original object ...

fell in Japan File:Japanese Crested Ibis.jpg, Japanese crested ibis (''Nipponia nippon'') File:Amami rabbit Stuffed specimen.jpg, '' Amami rabbit'' File:Japan Wolf Skelton.jpg, Honshu wolf (Japanese wolf) File:Hachiko Stuffed specimen.jpg, Hachikō File:Terrestrial Globe by Shibukawa Shunkai.jpg, Papier-mache terrestrial globe, created by

Shibukawa Shunkai born as Yasui Santetsu (), later called Motoi Santetsu (), was a Japanese scholar, go player and the first official astronomer appointed of the Edo period. He revised the Chinese lunisolar calendar at the shogunate request, drawing up the J� ...

in 1695. Important Cultural Properties of Japan File:Troughton & Simms Astronomical Telescope - Joy of Museums - National Museum of Nature and Science, Tokyo.jpg ,

Troughton & Simms Troughton & Simms was a British scientific instrument firm. It was formed when Edward Troughton in his old age took on William Simms as a partner in 1826. It became a limited company in 1915 and in 1922 it merged with T. Cooke & Sons to for ...

astronomical

telescope A telescope is a device used to observe distant objects by their emission, absorption, or reflection of electromagnetic radiation. Originally meaning only an optical instrument using lenses, curved mirrors, or a combination of both to obse ...

, 19th century. Important Cultural Properties of Japan File:Milne Horizontal Pendulum Seismograph.jpg, Milne horizontal pendulum

seismograph A seismometer is an instrument that responds to ground noises and shaking such as caused by earthquakes, volcanic eruptions, and explosions. They are usually combined with a timing device and a recording device to form a seismograph. The outpu ...

. Important Cultural Properties of Japan File:Tsurigane-Dokei.jpg, Tsurigane-dokei (hanging bell-shaped clock) File:Elekiter replica.jpg, The ''Elekiter'' (replica) made by Hiraga Gennai File:Paleoparadoxia Skeleton.jpg, '' Paleoparadoxia'' Skeleton

Chikyūkan (Global Gallery)

The theme is "History of Earth Life and Mankind". The exhibition area is 3 floors above ground and 3 floors below ground. The first phase of construction was completed in 1998. The permanent exhibition will be open to the public from April 24, the following year. Grand opening on November 2, 2004 after the completion of the second phase of construction. The renovation work of the north exhibition hall started in September 2014, and the construction was completed the following year, and the grand opening was held on July 14. File:Japanese Wolf.jpg, Honshu wolf (Japanese wolf) File:Giant panda Fei Fei and Tong Tong.jpg,

Giant panda The giant panda (''Ailuropoda melanoleuca''), also known as the panda bear (or simply the panda), is a bear species endemic to China. It is characterised by its bold black-and-white coat and rotund body. The name "giant panda" is sometimes u ...

s named "Fei Fei" (left) and "Tong Tong" (right) File:Myriad-Year Clock, made by Hisashige Tanaka, 1851, with western and Japanese dials, weekly, monthly, and zodiac setting, plus sun and moon - National Museum of Nature and Science, Tokyo - DSC07407.JPG,

Myriad year clock The , was a universal clock designed by the Japanese inventor Hisashige Tanaka in 1851. It belongs to the category of Japanese clocks called '' Wadokei''. This clock is designated as an Important Cultural Property and a Mechanical Engineering ...

, 19th century. Important Cultural Properties of Japan file:Dunkleosteus.jpg , '' Dunkleosteus terrelli'' File:TeaAutomatAndMechanism.jpg,

Karakuri ningyō are traditional Japanese mechanized puppets or automata, made from the 17th century to the 19th century. The dolls' gestures provided a form of entertainment. The word has also come to mean "mechanisms" or "trick" in Japanese. It is used to ...

File:Hayabusa restoration model 2.jpg, Hayabusa model File:A6M2b Zero at Tokyo-NSM.jpg,

Mitsubishi A6M Zero The Mitsubishi A6M "Zero" is a long-range carrier-based fighter aircraft formerly manufactured by Mitsubishi Aircraft Company, a part of Mitsubishi Heavy Industries, and was operated by the Imperial Japanese Navy from 1940 to 1945. The A6M w ...

(Zero Fighter) Model 21 File:Zero Fighter Plane Model 21.jpg, Zero Fighter Plane Model File:YS-11 Wind tunnel model.jpg,

NAMC YS-11 The NAMC YS-11 is a turboprop airliner designed and built by the Nihon Aircraft Manufacturing Corporation (NAMC), a Japanese consortium. It was the only post-war airliner to be wholly designed and manufactured in Japan until the development of ...

wind tunnel model File:Space Flyer Unit.jpg, Space Flyer Unit File:Exhibition of National Museum of Nature and Science.jpg, Skeleton of

sperm whale The sperm whale or cachalot (''Physeter macrocephalus'') is the largest of the toothed whales and the largest toothed predator. It is the only living member of the genus ''Physeter'' and one of three extant species in the sperm whale famil ...

File:Animal collection National Museum of Nature and Science.jpg , Animal collection File:Giant Squid Specimen.jpg, Specimen of

giant squid The giant squid (''Architeuthis dux'') is a species of deep-ocean dwelling squid in the family Architeuthidae. It can grow to a tremendous size, offering an example of abyssal gigantism: recent estimates put the maximum size at around Tra ...

file:Indricotherium.jpg, '' Paraceratherium'' File:Protypotherium Fossil.jpg, ''

Protypotherium ''Protypotherium'' is an extinct genus of notoungulate mammals native to South America during the Oligocene and Miocene epochs. A number of closely related animals date back further, to the Eocene. Fossils of ''Protypotherium'' have been found in ...

'' File:Triceratops Raymond National Museum of Nature and Science.jpg, Fossil of ''

Triceratops ''Triceratops'' ( ; ) is a genus of herbivorous chasmosaurine ceratopsid dinosaur that first appeared during the late Maastrichtian stage of the Late Cretaceous period, about 68 million years ago in what is now North America. It is one ...

'' named "Raymond" File:Mola mola Stuffed specimen.jpg, largest taxidermy of '' Mola mola'' File:Basilosaurus and Tylosaurus.jpg, '' Basilosaurus'' and '' Tylosaurus'' File:Nantan Meteorite National Museum of Nature and Science.jpg, The largest fragment of

Nantan meteorite The Nantan meteorite is an iron meteorite that belongs to the IAB group and the MG (main group) subgroup. In 2000, pieces of the meteorite were included in an art installation for The BullRing Shopping Centre in Birmingham, England. A plaque no ...

File:Tyrannosaurus rex Bucky - National Museum of Nature and Science.jpg, '' Tyrannosaurus rex'' File:Moon rock National Museum of Nature and Science.jpg,

Moon rock Moon rock or lunar rock is rock originating from Earth's Moon. This includes lunar material collected during the course of human exploration of the Moon, and rock that has been ejected naturally from the Moon's surface and landed on Earth a ...

File:Displays - National Museum of Nature and Science, Tokyo - DSC07503.JPG, Taxidermy Displays

National research facility

Museum research facility * Tsukuba Botanical Garden Other National research facilities *

Ueno Zoo The is a zoo, managed by the Tokyo Metropolitan Government, and located in Taitō, Tokyo, Japan. It is Japan's oldest zoo, opened on March 20, 1882. It is served by Ueno Station, Keisei Ueno Station and Nezu Station, with convenient access ...

Tama Zoo The is a zoo, owned by the government of Tokyo Metropolis, and located in Hino, Tokyo, Japan. The Tama Zoo was opened on May 5, 1958, originally as a of the Ueno Zoo. The zoo aims to use its large site – 52 ha, compared to the 14.3 ha of the U ...

* Tokyo Sea Life Park

Access

Ueno Station is a major railway station in Tokyo's Taitō ward. It is the station used to reach the Ueno district and Ueno Park—which contains Tokyo National Museum, The National Museum of Western Art, Ueno Zoo, Tokyo University of the Arts and othe ...

Uguisudani Station is a railway station in Taitō, Tokyo, Japan, operated by East Japan Railway Company (JR East). The name relates to a valley where formerly many Japanese bush warblers (''uguisu'') were found. The station is to the north of the Tokyo National ...

Keisei Ueno Station is a railway station in Taitō, Tokyo, Japan, operated by the private railway operator Keisei Electric Railway. It is the terminus of the Keisei Main Line and is a short distance from JR Ueno Station. Layout The station is underground beneath ...

References

External links

National Museum of Nature and Science
- official site in English
National Museum of Nature and Science on Google Cultural Institute
{{DEFAULTSORT:National Museum Of Nature And Science Ueno Park Museums in Tokyo Science museums in Japan National museums of Japan Natural history museums in Japan Museums established in 1871 1871 establishments in Japan Buildings and structures in Taitō Neoclassical architecture in Japan Art Deco architecture in Japan