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 37.468 ...

. 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 north ...

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

Hachikō was a Japanese Akita dog remembered for his remarkable loyalty to his owner, Hidesaburō Ueno, for whom he continued to wait for over nine years following Ueno's death. Hachikō was born on November 10, 1923, at a farm near the city of Ōda ...

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 exp ...

. 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 locomot ...

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 A travelling exhibition, also referred to as a "travelling exhibit" or a "touring exhibition", is a type of exhibition that is presented at more than one venue. Temporary exhibitions can bring together objects that might be dispersed among sever ...

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 (company), Creatures, the owners of the trademark and copyright of the franchise. In terms of ...

'' 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 game s ...

. The exhibition opened at the

Mikasa City Museum opened in Mikasa, Hokkaidō, Japan in 1979. The collection documents the natural history and history of the area and is renowned for its ammonites as well as for the Yezo Mikasa Ryū type fossil, discovered in 1976 and designated a Natural Mo ...

Mikasa, Hokkaido is a city located in Sorachi Subprefecture, Hokkaido, Japan. As of September 2016, the city has an estimated population of 9,056, and the density of 30 persons per km2. Geography The total area is 302.64 km2. It is bordered on three sides ...

, 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 A virtual tour is a simulation of an existing location, usually composed of a sequence of videos, still images or 360-degree images. It may also use other multimedia elements such as sound effects, music, narration, text and floor map. It is dis ...

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 The Japanese sea lion (''Zalophus japonicus'') ( ja, ニホンアシカ, translit=Nihon ashika, Korean:강치, 바다사자) was an aquatic mammal that became extinct in the 1970s. It was considered to be a subspecies of the related California s ...

'' File:Futabasaurus.jpg, ''

Futabasaurus ''Futabasaurus'' is a genus of plesiosaur from the Late Cretaceous of Fukushima, Japan. It was described and named in 2006, and was assigned to the family Elasmosauridae. The genus contains one species, ''F. suzukii''. Description The siz ...

'' File:Nipponites.jpg, ''

Nipponites ''Nipponites'' is an extinct genus of heteromorph ammonites. The shells of ''Nipponites'' (primarily ''N. mirabilis'') form "ox-bow" bends, resulting in some of the most bizarre shapes seen among ammonites. The ecology of ''Nipponites'', as wit ...

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 cuttlefish) ...

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 en ...

fell in Japan File:Japanese Crested Ibis.jpg, Japanese

crested ibis The crested ibis (''Nipponia nippon''), also known as the Japanese crested ibis, Asian crested ibis or toki, is a large (up to long), white-plumaged ibis of pine forests, native to eastern Asia. Its head is partially bare, showing red skin, and ...

(''Nipponia nippon'') File:Amami rabbit Stuffed specimen.jpg, ''

Amami rabbit The Amami rabbit (''Pentalagus furnessi''; ), or , also known as the Ryukyu rabbit is a dark-furred rabbit which is only found in Amami Ōshima and Toku-no-Shima, two small islands between southern Kyūshū and Okinawa in Kagoshima Prefecture ...

'' File:Japan Wolf Skelton.jpg,

Honshu wolf The Japanese wolf ( ja, ニホンオオカミ（日本狼）, ja, script=Latn, label= Hepburn, Nihon ōkami, or , below">#Nomenclature: "ōkami" and "yamainu"">below ''Canis lupus hodophilax''), also known as the Honshū wolf, is an extinct s ...

(Japanese wolf) File:Hachiko Stuffed specimen.jpg,

File:Terrestrial Globe by Shibukawa Shunkai.jpg, Papier-mache

terrestrial globe A globe is a spherical model of Earth, of some other celestial body, or of the celestial sphere. Globes serve purposes similar to maps, but unlike maps, they do not distort the surface that they portray except to scale it down. A model 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 Jō ...

in 1695.

Important Cultural Properties of Japan An The term is often shortened into just is an item officially classified as Tangible Cultural Property by the Japanese government's Agency for Cultural Affairs (Ministry of Education, Culture, Sports, Science and Technology) and judged to be of ...

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 form ...

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 observe ...

, 19th century.

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 output ...

File:Tsurigane-Dokei.jpg, Tsurigane-dokei (hanging bell-shaped clock) File:Elekiter replica.jpg, The ''Elekiter'' (replica) made by

Hiraga Gennai was a Japanese polymath and ''rōnin'' of the Edo period. Gennai was a Pharmacology, pharmacologist, student of ''Rangaku'', physician, author, painter and inventor well known for his ''Elekiter, Erekiteru'' (electrostatic generator), ''Kandan ...

File:Paleoparadoxia Skeleton.jpg, ''

Paleoparadoxia ''Paleoparadoxia'' ("ancient paradox") is a genus of large, herbivorous aquatic mammals that inhabited the northern Pacific coastal region during the Miocene epoch (). It ranged from the waters of Japan (Tsuyama and Yanagawa), to Alaska in the n ...

'' 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 us ...

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.

file:Dunkleosteus.jpg , ''

Dunkleosteus terrelli ''Dunkleosteus'' is an extinct genus of large armored, jawed fishes that existed during the Late Devonian period, about 382–358 million years ago. It consists of ten species, some of which are among the largest placoderms to have ever lived: ...

'' 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 t ...

File:Hayabusa restoration model 2.jpg,

Hayabusa was a robotic spacecraft developed by the Japan Aerospace Exploration Agency (JAXA) to return a sample of material from a small near-Earth asteroid named 25143 Itokawa to Earth for further analysis. ''Hayabusa'', formerly known as MUSES-C ...

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

Mitsubishi A6M Zero The Mitsubishi A6M "Zero" is a long-range carrier-based aircraft, 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 19 ...

(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 t ...

wind tunnel model File:Space Flyer Unit.jpg,

Space Flyer Unit The was a spacecraft which was launched by Japan on March 18, 1995.
Main Reference

Technical dat ...

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 Trace ...

file:Indricotherium.jpg, ''

Paraceratherium ''Paraceratherium'' is an extinct genus of hornless rhinoceros. It is one of the largest terrestrial mammals that has existed and lived from the early to late Oligocene epoch (34–23 million years ago). The first fossils were discovered ...

'' 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 ...

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

Triceratops ''Triceratops'' ( ; ) is a genus of herbivore, herbivorous Chasmosaurinae, chasmosaurine Ceratopsidae, ceratopsid dinosaur that first appeared during the late Maastrichtian stage of the Late Cretaceous Period (geology), period, about 68 m ...

'' named "Raymond" File:Mola mola Stuffed specimen.jpg, largest taxidermy of ''

Mola mola The ocean sunfish or common mola (''Mola mola'') is one of the largest bony fish in the world. It was misidentified as the heaviest bony fish, which was actually a different species, '' Mola alexandrini''. Adults typically weigh between . The sp ...

'' File:Basilosaurus and Tylosaurus.jpg, ''

Basilosaurus ''Basilosaurus'' (meaning "king lizard") is a genus of large, predatory, prehistoric archaeocete whale from the late Eocene, approximately 41.3 to 33.9 million years ago (mya). First described in 1834, it was the first archaeocete and prehistor ...

'' and ''

Tylosaurus ''Tylosaurus'' (from the ancient Greek (') 'protuberance, knob' + Greek (') 'lizard') is a genus of mosasaur, a large, predatory marine reptile closely related to modern monitor lizards and to snakes, from the Late Cretaceous. Description A ...

'' 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 now ...

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

Tyrannosaurus rex ''Tyrannosaurus'' is a genus of large theropod dinosaur. The species ''Tyrannosaurus rex'' (''rex'' meaning "king" in Latin), often called ''T. rex'' or colloquially ''T-Rex'', is one of the best represented theropods. ''Tyrannosaurus'' live ...

'' 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 as ...

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 fr ...

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 Ue ...

Tokyo Sea Life Park is a public aquarium located in Edogawa Ward, Tokyo. It is located in Kasai Rinkai Park in Edogawa Ward, Tokyo, and Kasai Rinkai Bird Garden is also located in the park. It can be accessed from Kasai-Rinkai Park Station. The Predecessor is the ...

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 other fam ...

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 Nationa ...

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