Jilin University Geological Museum

Jilin University Geological Museum

The Jilin University Geological Museum is a national AA-level tourist attraction, as well as a base for science education and patriotic education.

The Jilin University Geological Museum was established in 1952, with an exhibition area of 1,500 square meters. It enjoys a high reputation both in China and abroad for its abundant collections, exquisite highlights, and distinctive features. The museum consists of a Science Popularization Hall and a Dinosaur Hall. The Science Popularization Hall features sections for rare stones, gemstones and jade, paleontology, and earth science education. The Dinosaur Hall displays several giant dinosaur skeleton fossils as well as precious dinosaur eggs and fossilized dinosaur footprints. To fully leverage the social educational function of university museums, Jilin University Museum opened to the public in 1998. After half a century of development, the Jilin University Geological Museum has played an increasingly important role in geological research and science education, with its overall strength ranking among the top of university museums in China and museums in Jilin Province. It is one of the renowned geological museums in China and even Asia. Since its establishment, the museum has received hundreds of thousands of domestic and international visitors, including inspections by senior leaders such as Zhu De, Dong Biwu, Deng Xiaoping, and Li Fuchun.

The museum integrates “scientific research, teaching, and science popularization,” featuring a comprehensive collection of rock, mineral, and fossil specimens, as well as rich collections of cultural relics and archaeological items, complemented by substantial accumulations of related geological and archaeological materials. The museum houses over 20,000 exhibits collected from across China and more than 30 countries and regions worldwide, including many treasures such as the most complete hadrosaur fossil in Northeast China—the Jiayin Psittacosaurus, the first dinosaur fossil skeleton unearthed in Jilin Province—the Changchun Dragon, Shang Dynasty oracle bones and bronze ware, and the Southern Song Dynasty Yue Fei seal. The museum also features a micro-paleontology fossil restoration laboratory of international standards, with fossil repair capabilities that are leading in China. As a specialized venue built upon a university, the museum engages frequently in scientific research and international exchanges. In recent years, the “Cretaceous Vertebrate Fauna of Central Jilin” research project has yielded a series of influential academic results both nationally and internationally.

Jilin University Museum is also recognized as a “National Youth Science and Technology Education Base,” “National Science Education Base,” “Land and Resources Science Popularization Base,” “Jilin Provincial Patriotic Education Base,” “Changchun Patriotic Education Base,” “National Advanced Collective for Science Education,” and a “National AA-Level Tourist Attraction.” It serves as an important venue for disseminating scientific and cultural knowledge to the public and promoting patriotism.

To fully leverage the social educational function of university museums, Jilin University Museum opened to the public in 1998, earning widespread acclaim from all sectors of society. In 1999, the museum was designated as a “National Science Education Base” by the China Association for Science and Technology. In the same year, it was named a “National Youth Science Education Base” by the Ministry of Science and Technology, the Publicity Department of the CPC Central Committee, the Ministry of Education, and the China Association for Science and Technology. In 2002, the museum was jointly awarded the title of “National Advanced Collective for Science Popularization” by the Ministry of Science and Technology, the Publicity Department of the CPC Central Committee, and the China Association for Science and Technology.

Over the decades since its establishment, the museum has adhered to a guiding principle that emphasizes equal importance on “scientific research, teaching, and science popularization.” In addition to carrying out collection acquisition, research, and exhibition work, the museum has also undertaken a significant amount of scientific research and international exchange activities. Currently, the museum has established extensive connections with over 10 overseas museums, more than 100 domestic museums, and university museums. It has engaged in broad exchanges in areas such as museum development, academic research, science popularization, and specimen exchanges, fostering multifaceted cooperative relationships. In recent years, the museum has collaborated with Providence College in the United States on research regarding early Cretaceous mammalian evolution in Northeast Asia; with the Royal Belgian Institute of Natural Sciences on studies of the dinosaur fauna in Northeast China; and with the Fukui Dinosaur Museum in Japan on comparative studies of dinosaurs in China and Japan.

After half a century of development, the museum’s overall strength has ranked among the top of university museums in China and museums in Jilin Province. With increasing visibility, it plays an ever more significant role in geological research and science education, and has become an outstanding destination for cultural tourism and science education in Changchun. It is hailed as a shining pearl of the Spring City.