Established in 1908, the museum is the oldest in Taiwan. The colonial government of Japan set up the Taiwan Governor Museum, which officially opened on 24 October 1908, to commemorate the inauguration of the North-South Railway. The museum had a collection of over 10,000 items in its initial stages. In 1915, the new building of the museum in Taihoku New Park was inaugurated and became one of the major public buildings during Japanese rule. In 1935 it was used to house the First Cultural Pavilion at. After the handover of Taiwan from Japan to the Republic of China, the Department of Education of the Taiwan Provincial Government took over the administration of the museum in 1949 and renamed it Taiwan Provincial Museum until 1999. The museum underwent two major renovations in 1961 and 1994 respectively. Since 1999, the museum has been administered by the Central Government and renamed "National Taiwan Museum." Throughout the years of war and political transition and after twice being renamed, it stands as the only museum established during the colonial years, which is still in operation on its original site. In 1998, the Ministry of the Interior declared the museum a "National Heritage." On 21 November 2017, the museum reopened after two months of renovation works.
Capital Museums System
The Council for Cultural Affairs started a project in 2005 to combine the National Taiwan Museum with nearby historical sites into the "Capital Museums System". The National Taiwan Museum System currently consists of 4 museums:
Nanmen Park: The camphor factory of the Monopoly Bureau. Renovation completed in 1990, highlights Taiwan industrial history with exhibits on camphor-processing and modern industry.
Railway Department Park: The former Railway Department of the Transportation Administration, renovated as the Railway Museum.
The following historical buildings will also be restored and added to the system as museums:
The museum has witnessed Taiwan's history and recorded its natural and humanitarian developments. Through this window, one may catch a glimpse of Taiwan's evolution with regard to the fields of earth sciences, humanitarian developments, zoology, and botany. The museum maintains its original scale, with five departments — anthropology, earth sciences, zoology, botany and education. The collection features specimens of Taiwan's indigenous animals and plants as well as cultural artifacts. Through its regular exhibitions and special exhibitions, publications and various educational programs, the museum is serving the public as an educational establishment.
Touring exhibitions: every year, the museum organizes exhibition tours selected from among the special exhibitions that are suitable for showing in natural history educational halls around the island.
Permanent exhibitions:
*Section on Taiwan's pre-history culture.
*Section on Taiwan's indigenous culture.
Outdoor exhibitions: includes bronze buffaloes, Collection of Stone Tablets, relics of the Giant Stone Culture, old cannons, and old locomotives.
