This past Wednesday, toddler girl and I took a field trip to
the National Museum of Nature and Science Tokyo. She is interested in
dinosaurs and since we home school, I thought this would be a great time to
head to the museum for a fun-learning day.
One reason for going to the museum was to check out the exhibit BigDinosaurs: Wonders of the Gobi Desert.
After checking out the dinosaurs, toddler girl and I headed
to check out the rest of the museum. It
is separate into two parts; the Japan Gallery and the Global Gallery. We started at the Global Gallery first. The Global Gallery is 7 floors of learning
about the history of life on Earth. You
start on 1F (the main floor level) Biodiversity. From there you can choose to either go up or
down. We decided to start at the bottom
level and work our way up. Down the escalator (elevator is also available) we
went to B3F, The Natural World. This floor was about exploring the laws of
nature exploring the universe and the world of matter. Next we went to B2F, Evolution of Life, this
floor focal point going back 4.6 billion years in history. Next stop was to 2F Exploring Space and
Progress in Science and Technology. Here
there were hands-on experiments for you to try.
Toddler girl had a blast trying each of the experiments, with my help of
course. What kid does not like to touch buttons and turn things! 3F was
Exploring Space and Animals of the Earth, there are displays of many animals
from around the world. RF (roof) has an
herb garden and parasol garden. We did
not go up to the rooftop, but plan to on our next visit.
The Japan Gallery is three floors on the Japanese
Islands. You start by walking into a
beautiful hall that is Neo-Renaissance style architect. It has the shape of an airplane. 1F-South is
the Techniques in Observing Nature. From
earthquakes measurements to measuring time.
There is a nice section with many clocks and watches on display. It was lunchtime and toddler girl and myself
were ready to get lunch, so we did not visit the last 2 floors of the Japan
Gallery. 2F- South is the Organisms of
the Japanese Islands and 2F-North is the Japanese People and Nature. The last
floor, 3F-South is the Nature of the Japanese Islands and 3F-North is the
History of the Japanese Islands.
A few pictures from the Global Gallery…
The museums has a theater called, Theater360 on B1F of the Japan Gallery, which
has a screen build around the interior of the dome. There is also a restaurant
on M2F of the Global Gallery. If you
brought your won bento, snack, or want a quick bite to eat there is a lounge
and café on B1F of the Japan Gallery.
Museum Hours: 9:00am – 5:00pm, Every Friday 9:00am – 8:00pm
CLOSED on Monday
Admission: Adults 600 Yen, Children, grades 1 – 12 Free
Website: www.kahaku.go.jp
