Kurashiki Museum of Natural History

The Kurashiki Museum of Natural History is a museum located in Kurashiki City, Okayama Prefecture. It is located in a plot to the west across Kurashiki Chuo Dori from the Kurashiki Bikan Historical Quarter, along with the Kurashiki City Library and the Kurashiki City Museum of Art. It opened on November 3, 1983. It is a three-story building with four permanent exhibition rooms and one special exhibition room, and exhibits include flora and fauna of Okayama Prefecture, insects, fossils, and meteorites from around the world. We sometimes conduct research at the request of local governments, etc., with the aim of managing and displaying materials related to natural history and improving cultural culture. == History == From around 1977, with the relocation of what was then Kurashiki City Hall, many opinions were submitted to the city regarding the use of the former city hall site. In 1980, a plan was announced to use the building as a cultural facility, and on March 2, 1982, it was officially decided that the former Kurashiki City Waterworks Bureau building would be remodeled and used as a natural history museum (the former Kurashiki City Hall building would be used as the Kurashiki City Museum of Art). The museum opened on November 3 of the following year, and since then has expanded and carried out commemorative projects. It has been 40 years since the current building was renovated and opened in 1983, and as the building has aged, plans have been made to move it to a new building on the premises of Life Park Kurashiki in Furushinden, Fukuda-cho, Kurashiki City. A basic plan for the relocation (``Life Park Kurashiki Renewal and New Natural History Museum Development Basic Plan'') is scheduled to be formulated in 2023.