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Leave your summer homework to us! A museum where you can learn about the Earth and encounter Kanagawa

夏休みの宿題もお任せ! 地球を知って神奈川と出会う博物館

Visit, see and feel the world of art
File.3 Kanagawa Prefectural Planet of Life and Earth Museum

4.6 billion years have passed since the birth of Earth, the planet of life. A museum where you can learn about its history and the diversity of life in an easy-to-understand manner along the flow of time. There are approximately 10,000 life-sized specimens, ranging from giant dinosaurs to meteorites to pea-sized insects. It's fun just to look at the exhibits that tell a story, but be careful as it's so comprehensive that it could take you an entire day to look around.
Whether you like geology, space, animals, insects, plants, or fish, you have to visit. Just go!

There is a vast universe on the ceiling of the entrance. Below, you will be greeted by the fossils of life that has carved out history in various spaces on earth, including the sky, land, and sea.

The first theme on the first floor is "Thinking about the Earth."
No one has ever seen the moment the Earth was born, so meteorites from space are used to unravel its mysteries. Pieces of information extracted from various meteorites are pieced together to expand the image of the creation of heaven and earth.
The romance of being a scientist is kind of amazing.

The object placed in the center is the Mandrabira meteorite that fell in Australia. Apparently it weighs 2.5 tons, so of course it's real. It's mostly made of iron, so when you touch it and smell it, it definitely smells a little rusty.
At museums, you can touch exhibits unless they are in cases or fenced off. Let's use all five senses, such as touch and smell, that cannot be conveyed through online images, and think about the history of the earth and life.
This is a globe that shows the epicenter of the earthquake and the volcano using white and red light bulbs, respectively. In areas where ancient civilizations flourished, such as Africa and the Middle East, and areas where Western cities are concentrated, there are almost no light bulbs. On the other hand, the Japanese archipelago is so covered with red and white light bulbs that you can't even make out the islands. It may be miraculous that a cutting-edge city has developed on such unstable ground.

Whether or not life is born there, the strata are full of stories. I don't really understand how difficult it is, but it's really impressive!

The second theme is "Thinking about life."

Bacteria, which can be said to be the origin of life, appeared on Earth about 2 billion years ago. It seems that it will take more than 1.5 billion years for trilobites and other creatures to appear.
Then, 100 million years ago, the familiar "ammonite" appeared. Of course, this stratum is also real. If you look for them, you'll find that the ancestors of nautiluses, bivalves, and snails are also hidden there.
The parts that you can reach are polished by everyone's hands and have a shiny shine. It looks like the remains of a treasure hunt.

The process by which aquatic creatures come to land and evolve into amphibians and reptiles is also exhibited.

But what really gets me excited are the fossils of large beasts. Dinosaurs and elephant relatives (mammoths, etc.) have an overwhelming presence in the large hall.

A complete collection that is irresistible for insect lovers. I apologize for thinking from a human perspective, but the shapes of insects are truly bizarre and mysterious.
Of course, they are all valuable natural history materials.

As dinosaurs become extinct, mammals that have adapted to various environments will expand their influence on Earth. Approximately 6,500 years ago is "just recently" in terms of Earth's history.
Here, representative creatures from all orders of mammals are selected and displayed as stuffed animals. When you think about it, it's a bit strange to see animals that would never have met each other lined up together looking friendly (?). That's what makes it different from a zoo, but what's really amazing is that you can take a close look at it, almost nose-to-nose. The sharp teeth of carnivores, the size of brown bears, etc., only feel real when you see them up close.

A group of birds are flying over the hall.
If you look closely, you can see waterfowl flying properly.

When I look down on the first floor hall from the escalator going up to the upper floor, I feel like I'm a bird.
Beside the escalator, there are points such as ``Mammoth's eye height'' and ``Tyrannosaurus' eye height'', so be sure to check these out as well.
However, please note that the escalator cannot stop at that position.

The first theme on the third floor is "Thinking about Kanagawa's nature."
Let's examine from a local perspective how the land we live on was formed and what kind of animals, plants, and marine life it has nurtured. Kanagawa is located on the point where three of the four tectonic plates on which the Japanese archipelago rests collide, so it seems that there is a wide variety of vegetation. Additionally, Sagami Bay, which is famous for its overwhelming depth, is said to be home to a greater variety of fish species than any other region in Japan.
Rather than being interested in natural history, I was excited to imagine the menu at a sushi restaurant.

The final theme was ``Thinking about coexistence with nature - humanity's present and future.''
In the natural world, substances have been circulated between the atmosphere, water, the earth's surface, and living things, and a balance has been maintained. In recent years, the activities of humans, who are just one type of life on Earth, have had a major impact on this balance.
From this point on, the focus will be on data displays rather than easy-to-understand specimens and models. It may be a little difficult, but I want you to stop for a moment and think about what the data means.

The last stop is the Jumbo Book Exhibition Room.
There are 27 3.2 meter tall three-dimensional encyclopedias filled with real specimens. The best part is that you can change the display one book at a time, giving you a high degree of freedom in developing the book according to the season or current events. The world of science is always full of new discoveries, which is why having such a dynamic exhibition corner is such a necessity.

When you go down the stairs to the second floor, you will find a library stocked with nature-related books.
During the summer vacation period (until August 19, 2018), study instructors are always on hand to advise children on independent research in the science field. Once you have decided on a research topic, the museum curators will be happy to help you find and compile more detailed information, so feel free to consult with them first.
Once you have compiled an interesting report, let's submit it to the ``Children's Natural Science Exhibition'' sponsored by the museum!

Special exhibition underway!

《Let's create a botanical journal! ~The history and future of the ``Kanagawa Prefecture Botanical Journal 2018''~》

In 1988, the ``Green Family Register,'' compiled through the efforts of ordinary people living in Kanagawa Prefecture, was published for the first time in Japan. A special exhibition is currently being held to coincide with the announcement of the second revised edition following the 2001 revision.
It introduces what has been learned from the latest research, how local plants have been studied, and initiatives that connect the past and the future.

■Period Until Sunday, November 4, 2018
*For more information
http://nh.kanagawa-museum.jp/sp/2018special/

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