Divided into three sections, this special exhibition at the Minato Science Museum in Toranomon looks at how some of the Earth’s most striking landscapes have been formed.
The introductory section explains how the formation of the Earth has been influenced by the land, atmosphere, ocean and living organisms. Large panels, a model of plate tectonics and a digital globe are used to visualise these changes to Earth’s beautiful landscapes.
The exhibition’s main section shows the formation of four famous landscapes: the Galapagos Islands in Ecuador, the Grand Canyon in the United States of America, the Namib Desert in Namibia and Shark Bay in Australia. It explains, for example, how the Galapagos Islands were formed through volcanic activity and plate movement, and that the Grand Canyon was created by the erosion of the Colorado River.
After learning about Earth’s future in the final section of the exhibition, make sure to visit the on-site planetarium to catch the museum's new programme ‘Water Planet’. It’s a special collaboration with Kagaya, a Japanese artist known for his detailed paintings of space and utopian worlds. What’s more, visitors can even discover Canada’s Northern Lights and explore French cityscapes through virtual reality.
While entry to the exhibition is free, you’ll have to pay ¥600 (high school students and younger ¥100, free for pre-school children and younger) to enter the planetarium.