The NTU Insectarium is located outside the NTU campus at the foot of Taipei City’s Chanchu Shan (蟾蜍山)

National Taiwan University’s Insectarium is a two story historical cottage located at the foot of Taipei City’s Chanchu Shan (蟾蜍山). While it is commonly believed that the fifth of the NTU Museums’ unique location was selected due to its proximity with nature, the Insectarium was actually constructed outside the campus due to “human” factors.

Through collaborative efforts, the Insectarium’s rich collection has been made available to the public.
(Photo:Insectarium Facebook page )

Back in 1928, Tokuichi Shiraki, then Minister of the Taiwan Agricultural Experiment Station was hired by Taihoku Imperial University (NTU’s Japanese predecessor) as chair professor of entomology and sericulture. As Shiraki needed a space to conduct research, he built what is now the Insectarium building next to his workplace at the agricultural station’s Animal Research Division. It was Shiraki’s hope that educational and practical resources could be better integrated; therefore the two buildings were linked by means of a corridor. Because of this reason, the Insectarium has helped cultivate an abundance of professional talent in entomology throughout the years.

The Insectarium building has braved through over 80 years of various weathers since it was completed in 1936. While most of the rooms have been utilized as research offices, an exhibition room and a chamber for its magnificent specimen collection were added. Through collaborative efforts by the Insectarium and NTU Museums, the Insectarium’s precious collection, many of which are over hundreds of years of age, has also been made accessible to the general public.

Now snug up as a bug in a rug and check out the Insectarium Facebook page and website to get more information on NTU’s buzzing side of history.

Click HERE to access original article written by Insectarium (03/26/2014).

National Taiwan University is home to an abundance of educational and cultural artifacts that bear the history of the campus’ past. As a result, NTU Museums project, a campaign that integrates the university’s ten individual museums, was launched in 2005 and officially inaugurated in 2007 so that the school’s hidden treasures could be introduced to the public. To honor the school’s past, the “Legacies of NTU” series will feature the stories of NTU’s hidden treasures by taking you through the most precious items among the university’s collection.