Hanoi museum displays specimens of life detailing 3.6 billion years

The Vietnam National Museum of Nature is located deep inside the Vietnam Academy of Science and Technology at No.18 Hoang Quoc Viet Street in the capital city of Hanoi. Operating since May 15, 2014, the institution has gradually developed to be among the leading museums of its kind in Vietnam. Its functions include researching, collecting, preserving, storing, inspecting, and exhibiting specimens of geology, biology, anthropology (archeology), and documents of nature and natural resources in Vietnam and abroad. The facility is also set to conduct basic research, research and development of technology for socio-economic development in the central region following the regulations of the laws. (Photo: VietnamPlus)

Before entering the museum, visitors encounter a large and lifelike dinosaur right in the front. The place is listed among the largest and most modern museums in Hanoi. Its total area is up to 1,000m2, of which 300 square metres is used for exhibition purposes. Despite such a small exhibition space, the museum displays the life cycle of diverse flora and fauna dating back millions of years ago. It is not only a place to store, preserve and display artifacts, documents, and samples of Vietnam's nature, but also an attractive destination that welcomes tens of thousands of visitors on an annual basis. (Photo: VietnamPlus)

A crowd of visitors inside the museum. They come to take a look at the 1,400 items on display, which describe the life cycles of mammals, reptiles, amphibians, insects, and plants. Together, they tell a story of the origin of life and nature over the course of 3.6 billion years. The museum takes visitors on a trip back in time, detailing the categorisation of species. The venue is open from 8:30 am to 11 am and from 1:30 pm to 16:30 pm from Thursday to Sunday. On Tuesday, Wednesday, Thursday, and Friday, it is reserved for registered groups of people, mostly students and researchers. Admission is free. (Photo: VietnamPlus)

Facing the entrance is a phylogenetic tree detailing the evolution of life, which is found on the wooden wall of a round room. It explores the evolution of life and describes the relationships between five living and extinct organisms of progenitors, protozoa, fungi, plants, and animals. The room features warm light and colours, which is very pleasing to the eyes. It leads to an exhibition space showcasing the history of life, which is probably the most prominent and attractive area in the museum. The area displays fossil samples representing four periods of geological development on Earth, which are the Pre-Cambrian era (4,500 - 541 million years ago), the Paleozoic era (541 - 252 million years ago), the Mesozoic era (252 - 66 million years ago), and the Cenozoic era (66 million years to present). (Photo: VietnamPlus)

The museum is not only a place to store, preserve and display artifacts, documents, and samples of Vietnam's nature, but also an attractive destination that welcomes tens of thousands of visitors on an annual basis. The venue is open from 8:30 am to 11 am and from 1:30 pm to 16:30 pm from Thursday to Sunday. On Tuesday, Wednesday, Thursday, and Friday, it is reserved for registered groups of people, mostly students, and researchers. Admission is free. The Hanoi Tourism Department has named the museum one of the top 100 tourist destinations of the capital city which houses more than 3,000 destinations. (Photo: VietnamPlus)

At the exhibition space showcasing the history of life. The area displays fossil samples representing four periods of geological development on Earth, namely the Pre-Cambrian era (4,500 - 541 million years ago), the Paleozoic era (541 - 252 million years ago), the Mesozoic era (252 - 66 million years ago), and the Cenozoic era (66 million years to present). There are fossil samples restored from famous originals in the world, specimens unearthed in Vietnam such as an Ammonites specimen discovered in the Central Highlands of Dak Lak, and others excavated in other countries around the world such as an Archaeopteryx specimen dating back from 154 to 135 million years ago that was found in Germany. (Photo: VietnamPlus)

Children are gazing at the display of many specimens that represent the history of life, spanning four periods of geological development on Earth, namely the Pre-Cambrian era (4,500 - 541 million years ago), Paleozoic era (541 - 252 million years ago), the Mesozoic era (252 - 66 million years ago), and the Cenozoic era (66 million years to present). The museum welcomed 10,000 visitors last year, most of them students and children. It is not only a place to store, preserve and display artifacts, documents, and samples of Vietnam's nature, but also an attractive destination that welcomes hundreds of visitors on an annual basis. The Hanoi Tourism Department named it one of the top 100 tourist destinations of the capital city, which houses more than 3,000 destinations. (Photo: VietnamPlus)

Visitors look at exhibits inside the museum. Its total area is up to 1,000m2, of which 300 square metres is used for the exhibitions. Despite such a small exhibition space, the museum displays fully and vividly the life cycle of diverse flora and fauna dating back millions of years ago. Close to 1,400 items are on display, describing the life cycles of mammals, reptiles, amphibians, insects, and plants that tell a story of the origin of life and nature over a course of 3.6 billion years. The museum is not only a place to store, preserve and display artifacts, documents, and samples of Vietnam's nature, but also an attractive destination that welcomes tens of thousands of visitors on an annual basis. (Photo: VietnamPlus)

Next to the history of life exhibition space is the area showcasing the evolution progress and migration diagram of the human species. On the image are specimens of the Homo habilis (able man or handy man), Homo erectus (upright man), and Homo sapiens (wise man). Homo habilis, the extinct species of human and the most ancient representative of the human genus, inhabited parts of sub-Saharan Africa from roughly 2.4 to 1.5 million years ago. Homo erectus, also the extinct species of the human genus, seems to have flourished until some 200,000 years ago or perhaps later before giving way to other humans including Homo sapiens. Homo sapiens is the species to which all modern human beings belong and is one of several species grouped into the genus Homo, but it is the only one that is not extinct. (Photo: VietnamPlus)

Ngoc Mai and her son, residents in the Tay Ho district of Hanoi, in their visit to the Vietnam National Museum of Nature. This was the second time they had been to the place. Mai said the museum is very suitable for parents and their children to spend an enticing weekend. The museum is not only a place to store, preserve and display artifacts, documents, and samples of Vietnam's nature, but also an attractive destination that welcomes tens of thousands of visitors on an annual basis. The Hanoi Tourism Department named it one of the top 100 tourist destinations of the capital city which houses more than 3,000 destinations. In 2021, it welcomed 10,000 visitors, most of them students and children. (Photo: VietnamPlus)

Visitors look at a series of specimens of insects at the Vietnam National Museum of Nature. Unlike the state of desertion at some others, the Vietnam National Museum of Nature is a magnet to visitors thanks to its fairly rich number of specimens and modern layout. The venue has been operating since May 15, 2014, and gradually developed to be among the leading museums of its kind in Vietnam. Its insect display area often makes a strong impression on visitors, as it exhibits the largest collection of insects in Vietnam with hundreds of species arranged in sets. They are grouped into beetles, dragonflies, cicadas, mantis, and stick insects, some of them lived some 400 million years ago. (Photo: VietnamPlus)

Beetle specimens displayed at the museum. The insect display area often makes a strong impression on visitors, as it exhibits the largest collection of insects in Vietnam with hundreds of species arranged in sets. They are grouped into beetles, dragonflies, cicadas, mantis, and stick insects, some of them lived some 400 million years ago. The insects are some of the 1,400 exhibited items, which describe the life cycles of mammals, reptiles, amphibians, insects, and plants that tell a story on the origin of life and nature over a course of 3.6 billion years. With that many items, the museum takes visitors on a trip through time and space. (Photo: VietnamPlus)

Skeletons demonstrating the evolution of vertebrates: jawless fish, similar to living hagfish (living between 500 and 600 million years ago), amphibians (dating back about 370 million years ago), reptiles (dating back 300 million years ago), birds (dating back about 150 million years ago), and mammals (dating back about 200 million years ago) at the Vietnam National Museum of Nature. The group of skeletons is located at the exhibition area of the animal world and animal skeleton. The space is very attractive to children, with fossils and models of wild animals on display cleverly and vividly decorated and animal skeletons stored and preserved perfectly. (Photo: VietnamPlus)

A child shows great interest in skeletons, particularly of a king cobra, displayed inside a big glass cabinet. The exhibition area of the animal world and animal skeleton is very attractive to children, with fossils and models of wild animals on display vividly decorated and animal skeletons stored and preserved perfectly. The animals are among the close to 1,400 exhibits, which describe the life cycles of mammals, reptiles, amphibians, insects, and plants that tell a story of the origin of life and nature over a course of 3.6 billion years. With that many items, the museum takes visitors on a trip through time and space. (Photo: VietnamPlus)

A specimen of Asian black bear (Ursus thibetanus) exhibited at the Vietnam National Museum of Nature. The specimen was collected from the Hanoi Wildlife Rescue Centre. The animal, also known as the moon bear and white-chested bear, is a medium-sized species native to Asia that is largely adapted to an arboreal lifestyle. It lives in the Himalayas, southeastern Iran, northern parts of the Indian subcontinent, the Korean Peninsula, China, the Russian Far East, the islands of Honshū and Shikoku in Japan, and Taiwan (China). Threatened by deforestation and poaching, it is listed as vulnerable on the IUCN Red List. The Vietnamese government prohibits the hunting and exporting of Asian black bears; and the Red Book of Vietnam lists Vietnamese black bears as endangered. (Photo: VietnamPlus)

A child participates in an activity at the Vietnam National Museum of Nature. In addition to the exhibition of flora and fauna, the museum treats its visitors to a series of hands-on activities. They include the screening of 2D and 3D films about the evolution of humans, fish, dinosaurs, and insects and how the universe and the oceans have changed. Tourists can also join the making of insect specimens (butterflies and beetles), of simulating fossils of dinosaurs, insects, and sea creatures, of dinosaur robot, and of animal masks. Ngoc Mai, a resident in the Tay Ho district of Hanoi, said the museum is a great place for parents and their children to spend an interesting and educational weekend. (Photo: VietnamPlus)