National Museum of Natural Science 國立自然科學博物館

About National Museum of Natural Science

The Life Science Hall includes dinosaurs, plant evolution and the development of life; the Global Environment Hall adds earth-science topics and mineral displays.

Choose a few sections for a manageable visit, especially with children. The Botanical Garden changes the pace from indoor exhibits to living plants, and its tall greenhouse recreates a tropical rainforest setting. The museum’s remote parks and earthquake sites are separate destinations, not rooms inside this city campus.

The museum was Taiwan's first science museum, built under the Twelve Major Construction Projects (十二项建设). A preparatory office was formed in 1981 under Han Pao-teh (汉宝德) of National Chung Hsing University (国立中兴大学), and the museum was built in four phases: the Space Theatre and Science Center opened on 1 January 1986; the Life Science Hall, designed by the British designer James Gardner (葛登纳) and built by the UK's Beck and Politzer, opened in August 1988; and the Human Cultures Hall and Global Environment Hall opened in 1993.

Beyond the main museum and its Botanical Garden, the museum also operates outlying sites, including the 921 Earthquake Museum (九二一地震教育园区), opened in 2004 and fully open from 2007, the Fenghuanggu Bird Park (凤凰谷鸟园), and the Checheng Fault Preservation Park (车笼埔断层保存园区), completed in May 2013. An SOS spherical theatre using a display system developed by the United States' National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration opened in the Global Environment Hall's basement in 2008, the first such installation outside the United States. In 2025 the museum received a donation of 127 animal specimens from the former Alishan Museum's Japanese-era collection, including one of only five surviving taxidermy specimens of the Formosan clouded leopard worldwide.

What to look for

• Life Science Hall explains evolution through several focused galleries.
• Earth-science and mineral displays complement the biological collections.
• The Botanical Garden and rainforest greenhouse provide a living-plant setting.

Location & getting there

Getting to National Museum of Natural Science

The main museum is at 1 Guanqian Road, North District, Taichung. Use this address for the city campus and check separately for the Botanical Garden entrance and any ticketed gallery or theatre you choose.