Osaka Science Museum

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The exterior of the museum

The interior of the museum

The Osaka Science Museum is a science museum in Naka-no-shima, Kita-ku, Osaka, Japan, located between the Dōjima River and the Tosabori River. Its theme is "The Universe and Energy". It was opened in 1989. It was constructed as a project to mark the 100th anniversary of Osaka City, using a 6.5 billion yen donation for building costs donated by Kansai Electric. Its former incarnation was as the first science museum in Japan, and also the first planetarium, the Osaka City Electricity Science Museum (opened before the war, in 1937). It is located on top of Osaka's subterranean National Museum of Art.

The Science Museum's primary permanent exhibition consists of four floors of mainly interactive science exhibits, totalling 200 items, with each floor focusing on a different theme. There is also a live science show, with science demonstrations several times per day. Like the rest of the museum, these demonstrations are in Japanese only and visitors may require prior scientific knowledge to enjoy them.

The two secondary exhibits, both available separately from the primary exhibit, are a planetarium, which has a dome with a radius of 26.5 meters, the fifth largest in the world, and an Omnimax theater, which projects images of the heavens. In July 2004, the planetarium reopened after a renovation, as a next-generation installation containing a digital image device displaying the entire night sky. The "Friends of Osaka Science Museum" club has 1050 members, and the Junior Club has 170. There is also a shop selling science-related books and merchandise, and a cafe.

It also houses a collection of scientific resources, including Japan's first planetarium, (a Carl Zeiss II model) and the Cockcroft-Walton accelerator used at Osaka University, resources related to Seimikyoku, Japan's first fully-fledged chemistry laboratory, and resources related to pre-war electrical measuring devices and electrical equipment. Its collection of books and magazine for a general audience, largely on astrology, is the most comprehensive in West Japan.

The location of the science building, 4 Chōme, Naka-no-shima, is the former location of the Science department of Osaka University, and the place where Hideki Yukawa created his theory on mesons, for which he was awarded a Nobel prize. It is also the first place in Japan where cosmic waves were measured, and actively collects documents and performs research on these subjects.

1 Construction history
2 Hours of operation
3 Transport access
4 Information on the surrounding area
5 Related items
6 Sources
7 External links

[edit] Construction history

Founded— 1989
Completed— 1989
Design— Takenaka Kōmuten
Total floor area— 8,920.79m²
Address— 4-2-1, Naka-no-shima, Kita-ku, Osaka-shi, Osaka-fu 530-0005

[edit] Hours of operation

The Science Museum's official hours of operation are 9:30am to 4:45pm. It is closed on Mondays, but makes exceptions for national holidays. It is also closed for maintenance between December 28th and January 4th.

[edit] Transport access

Osaka Municipal Subway Higobashi Station &mdash Around 500m west
Osaka Municipal Subway Yodoyabashi Station &mdash Around 900m west
Hanshin Electric Railway Fukushima Station &mdash Around 800m south
JR Tōzai Line Shin-Fukushima Station &mdash Around 800m south
JR Osaka Loop Line Fukushima Station &mdash Around 900m south
Keihan Electric Railway Yodoyabashi Station &mdash Around 900m west
Osaka City Bus Taminobashi stop
- 10 minutes from Osaka Station on route 53 or 75
Osaka City Bus Tosabori 1-Chōme stop
- 10 minutes from Osaka Station on route 88
Hanshin Expressway Naka-no-shima west exit / Tosabori exit / Fukushima exit