Collection and Management of Specimens and Materials

The specimens and other materials collected and stored at the National Museum of Nature and Science are the common intellectual property of the whole human race. They are made public for research and education, to be used as research materials today and into the future. They enhance the collections of museums in every country, and are widely recognized as an extremely important heritage to be passed on to future generations, as the wide-ranging information gleaned from them can be expected to yield results vital for the future of humanity. Collecting, storing and conducting research using this intellectual property is a crucially important role that no organ or organization other than the Museum can fulfill.

These specimens and materials serve not only as research materials, from which new discoveries can be expected in the future, but also as evidence, providing confirmation of research hypotheses and conclusions. The preservation and safekeeping of these valuable specimens and materials, which are the intellectual property of all humanity, is the Museum's most important mission.

The National Museum of Nature and Science is one of Japan's foremost museums of natural science and the history of science and technology, and constantly seeks out and collects type specimens and other materials related to these disciplines. In certain fields, the Museum is among the greatest repositories of such assets in the world. Recently, the Museum has begun analyzing and storing DNA samples, teasing out the unbroken history of life on Earth from its emergence 4 billion years ago to the present. The Museum is conducting gene monitoring to unlock the history of the diversity of life and the speciation process. At Tsukuba Botanical Garden and the Institute for Nature Study, a great range of living things are cultivated and housed. These facilities are expected to play an important part in experimental research and collecting activities to preserve endangered plant species.

Joint Database of Specimens and Materials

Maintaining specimens consistently throughout the Museum requires construction of a database with a standardized data entry format. The Museum's Joint Database of Specimens and Materials is designed to incorporate specimens efficiently into the database while enabling appropriate specimen management. This database plays a central role not only in research activities but also in a broad gamut of important Museum activities. The information in the joint database is automatically uploaded to Science Museum Net and GBIF. The joint database extends and expands the Museum's contributive functions as a center of research and information on Japan's natural history and history of science and technology.