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Science in the City
Packed with engaging exhibits that explain scientific principles and document the natural world, the National Museum of Natural Science offers a great day out in Taichung City.
STORY AND PHOTOGRAPHY BY MATTHEW JONES
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“The scientist does not study nature because it is useful to do so. He studies it because he takes pleasure in it, and he takes pleasure in it because it is beautiful. If nature were not beautiful, it would not be worth knowing, and life would not be worth living.” This quote from Albert Einstein helps explain mankind’s unending quest to understand the world in which we live. |
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While we all recognize the ways in which our lives have been enriched by science, presenting this knowledge in a way that is understandable to the average person is not an easy task. The challenge is taken on by places such as the National Museum of Natural Science in Taichung, a world-class institution occupying 22 acres in the center of the city. Its exhibits cover the fields of astronomy, the pure sciences, natural history, anthropology, paleontology, medicine, agriculture, hi-tech manufacturing and uniquely Chinese innovations. Of the 3 million people that visit annually, roughly a third are school-age students, many of whom will be inspired to take up a career in the sciences. |
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The museum contains so much of interest that it’s impossible to see everything in a day. Visitors are advised to choose an itinerary that matches their interests rather than rushing around trying to get a glimpse of everything.
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MUSEUM GROUNDS
The area surrounding the museum is fascinating, and it’s well worth taking time to stroll around the gardens and take in all the sights. The Path of Evolution connects Taichung Gang Road with the main buildings. Along its 220 meters, visitors can follow life on Earth from the first creatures inhabiting the oceans to the rise and fall of the dinosaurs, and finally to the appearance of humankind.
Making the most of Taichung’s usually excellent weather, a sundial shows how time was measured in the days before mechanical clocks, while a nearby wind turbine rotates in a polyhedral dome, a testament to nature’s power that is waiting to be harnessed. A favorite with younger visitors, an outdoor dinosaur park provides a perfect photo op for those who want to create scenes from Jurassic Park.
EXPLORING SCIENCE
The museum’s core focus is science, and through its innovative displays, it successfully engages visitors of all ages. The Science Center contains many unique items that seek to illustrate natural phenomena, such as a 2m-high miniature tornado recreated in a spot-lit case. |
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On the second floor, there is the Integrated Circuits Area, offering a rare peek into the world of high-tech manufacturing so crucial to Taiwan’s economy. In a recreation of one of Taiwan Semiconductor Manufacturing Corp’s clean rooms, silicon wafers are loaded into an etching machine that will begin to form the minute electrical pathways that make up a microprocessor chip.
Blending education and fun, the Children’s Discovery Room is open to kids aged three to eight to get hands-on experience in the world of science. Here, they can explore the properties of different materials, develop observation skills, and practice problem-solving.
Within the Life Science Hall, visitors are immersed in the natural world and are given a tour of the jungles, mountains, deserts and oceans that are the habitats for a dizzying variety of creatures from viruses to jellyfish and turtles.
The origins of life on Earth are explored from the earliest plants to the age of the dinosaurs. The dinosaur gallery contains more than 50 actual fossils and fossil replicas, as well as crowd-drawing animatronic models of a 7m-long tyrannosaurus rex (with remarkable pearly white teeth) and a couple of dog-sized velociraptors snapping at its heels.
While the National Museum of Natural Science focuses primarily on Western scientific advances, it is in the field of Chinese innovation that it really shines. The Chinese Science Hall offers insights into the medicine, technology and culture of the early Chinese and Taiwanese. The entrance to the hall is dominated by a water-powered clock and observatory that dates back to the Northern Sung dynasty. The cutaway reconstruction shows the remarkable wooden mechanism that is driven by a giant waterwheel, which is in turn fed by a steady stream of water.
Much space is devoted to traditional Chinese medicine, and a fully stocked Chinese apothecary, complete with waxwork physicians, offers a glimpse of times gone by (or indeed, the present, in rural parts of China). Outside the apothecary stand human figures marked with acupuncture points, along with their bovine, equine and canine counterparts. While it is still little known – even among most Chinese – that traditional Chinese medical principles can be applied to veterinary science, dog and cat acupuncture is reportedly the latest fad among Hollywood celebrities who wish to pamper their beloved pets. |
GLOBAL ENVIRONMENT HALL
The Global Environment Hall houses four exhibit areas, covering the microscopic world, life on Earth, Taiwan’s ecology, and minerals. Microscopes fitted with digital video cameras allow visitors to explore specimens ranging from live bugs to plants and mineral samples; joysticks and preprogrammed pushbutton controls are used to position the cameras and zoom in on the images. |
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Seven lifelike dioramas in the Life on Earth exhibition introduce the flora and fauna of some of the world’s most important ecosystems: the Canadian tundra, the Manchurian temperate forest, the East African savannah, the mangroves of Borneo, the Galapagos coastline, the Sonoran desert, and Costa Rica’s rainforests.
The rich ecology of Taiwan is also showcased in its own exhibition area, covering seven zones from the frigid to the tropical. Although the island is geographically small, the dioramas help reveal the amazing biological diversity that is encountered here. |
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BOTANICAL GARDEN
The Botanical Garden occupies 4.5 hectares and contains a variety of plants native to Taiwan, from flowers, shrubs and ferns to deciduous and evergreen trees. The tropical rainforest greenhouse is the garden’s most prominent landmark, a giant cylindrical glass structure containing 300 species that thrive in the hot, moist environment.
To simulate the almost constant precipitation of a rainforest, a steady stream of water is released at ceiling height by a shower head. The man-made rain collects in a pond at ground level, while an artificial waterfall adds to the drama and atmosphere. Squirrels are allowed to roam the greenhouse and to watch their aerial antics is a welcome distraction from the hot, sticky microclimate.
Visitors can apply for permission to take the elevator to the viewing platform 30m above ground level. Although it offers an incredible view of the greenhouse and surrounding museum gardens, the steel gantry has a wire mesh floor and such a trip is not for the faint-hearted.
THEATERS
One of the highlights of any trip to the National Museum of Natural Science is its semispherical IMAX theater. Inside the dome, which measures 23m in diameter, are a planetarium projector and an IMAX movie projector. The planetarium projector recreates the night sky above Taiwan, as a narrator points out constellations and other heavenly bodies.
After the astronomy lecture, specially produced IMAX movies are projected onto the dome by a fisheye lens, creating a moving image that fills the entire field of view. Movies are rotated regularly and currently playing is a documentary that explores life on the Galapagos Islands and in its surrounding seas.
There is no better way to finish a tour of a science museum that by taking a trip to the stars followed by diving to the depths of the teeming oceans.
Information
Opening hours: 9am to 5pm every day except Mondays and Chinese New Year.
Getting there: From Freeway No.1, exit at the Taichung Interchange and head down Taichung Gang Road until you reach the museum. Taichung buses 27, 35, 70, 71, 88, 103, 106, 146 and 147 all pass the museum.
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