This museum was established with the purpose of promoting natural science and community education. In addition to the main museum in Tokyo’s Ueno Park, there is a branch in Shinjuku and a botanical garden in Tsukuba. Since the late 1800s the museum had been affiliated with the Ministry of Education, but today it is an independent administrative institution. The museum traces the history of science and technology and has exhibitions on the diversity of life on Earth and changes in the environment and the evolution of life. At the main museum, the Earth Room contains exhibits related to space, the Japan Gallery has exhibits on nature in Japan and plant and animal data, and Theater 360 lets visitors enjoy images on a 360-degree screen.