Osaka Museum of Natural History

The Osaka Museum of Natural History is a natural history museum established in 1974 within Nagai Park in Higashisumiyoshi Ward, Osaka. It offers learning about Osaka’s geological formation and how people interacted with nature during the Jomon and Yayoi periods. The museum has five permanent exhibition themes: “Nature Close to Home,” “The History of Earth and Life,” “Evolution of Life,” “Food Plants and Their Origins,” and “How Living Things Live.” At the entrance, visitors are greeted by skeleton specimens of a blue whale, a sperm whale, and a humpback whale. Inside, there are reconstructed models of a Naumann elephant and a Yabe giant deer. The “Nature Close to Home” section explains hidden aspects of everyday landscapes; “The History of Earth and Life” displays large dinosaur and Naumann elephant fossils; “Evolution of Life” explores evolutionary processes; “Food Plants and Their Origins” introduces various edible plants and their spread; and “How Living Things Live” includes games that teach about the lives of creatures inhabiting nearby satoyama environments.