National Science Museum

About

The National Museum of Nature and Science, in Ueno Park, Tokyo, traces its founding to 1877 (Meiji 10), when it was established as the Education Museum. It was renamed several times over the following decades, Tokyo Education Museum, Tokyo Museum, Tokyo Science Museum, before taking its current name in 1949. Its exhibition halls are divided into the Japan Gallery and the Global Gallery. The Japan Gallery, completed in December 1930 and opened the following year, was designated an Important Cultural Property in 2008; it explores the theme "The Japanese Archipelago and Its People," covering the islands' natural formation and the peopling of Japan. The Global Gallery opened its permanent exhibition in April 1999 under the theme "The History of Life on Earth and Humankind." The museum's holdings exceed five million specimens and documents, growing by tens of thousands each year. Less than one percent of the collection is on display in Ueno; most is kept in storage facilities in Tsukuba, Ibaraki Prefecture.