Zuojhen Fossil Park, the nation’s only natural history museum dedicated to paleontology and fossils, is to open on Sunday, the Tainan City Government said on Tuesday.
The park’s collection of 4,600 fossils is the largest in the nation and its 9,000m2 campus is 56 times bigger than the Tsailiao Fossil Museum, its institutional predecessor, Tainan Cultural Affairs Bureau Director-General Yeh Tse-shan (葉澤山) said.
Tainan’s Zuojhen (左鎮) is a major paleontological site and the museum would showcase some of the most significant discoveries excavated from the area, including Zuojhen Man and Rhinoceros sinensis hayasakai, he said.
Photo: Wu Chun-feng, Taipei Times
Other notable fossils include those of mammoths, stegodons, alligators, deers and shells of molluscs, Yeh said, adding that the fossil park cost NT$430 million (US$13.9 million) and is one of the city government’s flagship arts and culture projects.
The museum would serve multiple purposes, as it would meet the needs of the scientific community, and boost public education and tourism, he said.
The park is divided into halls focusing on evolution, fossils, natural history, and history and evolution, which are equipped with interactive and multimedia installations for children and adults, Yeh said.
The Paper Windmill Theater Troupe (紙風車劇團) would stage a performance at the opening ceremony and 3,000 gifts would be distributed to visitors, he said, adding that Tainan residents could enter the museum for free until the end of this month.
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