Pokemon Museum
Who would’ve thought a whole museum could be built out of fictional characters? This was a dream come true for those who are devoted fans of the popular Pokemon media franchise. You have to check this out!
The Pokémon Fossil Museum is a traveling exhibition with "life-size" sculpted representations of the skeletons of fossil Pokémon being displayed. Also included are actual fossils of extinct animals and living things that served as the inspiration for the Pokemon characters. This has been actualized thanks to the collaboration and efforts put forth by the National Museum of Nature and Science and The Pokemon Company.
Daisuke Aiba, a senior researcher for the Mikasa City Museum, came up with the idea for the exhibit, saying, "Since I was a kid, I've loved Pokémon and paleontology," and explaining that he and the other organizers wished to introduce paleontology to kids through the use of fossil Pokémon. The phrase "fossil Pokémon" is used to describe both the evolutions of extinct Pokémon and the ancient Pokémon that have been brought back to life from extinction via the utilization of their fossils. The graphics for the show were created by artists Hitoshi Ariga and biological illustrator Genya Masukawa
The Pokémon Fossil Museum was built to educate children about fossils and dinosaurs. Presenting “life-size” 3D models of the fossil Pokemon and the actually discovered fossils of their real-life prehistoric counterparts, the exhibition was designed to give visitors room to compare the fictional characters with their real-world inspirations. Images of "excavator Pikachu," a Pikachu sporting a helmet with a fossil pattern, can be found all around the display. Along with actual experts, "Fossil Professor" and "Excavator Pikachu" will lead visitors around the exhibition and allow them to compare the fossils from the two worlds.
The exhibit includes comparisons between, among other things, Omanyte and ammonites, Aerodactyl and Pterosaurs, Archen and Archaeopteryx, Tyrantrum and Tyrannosaurus, Aurorus and Amargasaurus, Bastiodon and Ceratopsian dinosaurs like Triceratops, and more. Additionally, fossil Pokémon like Kabuto and horseshoe crabs, Relicanth and coelacanths, and other extant taxa that superficially reflect similar species from the fossil record are displayed.
On 4 July 2021, the Pokémon Fossil Museum’s first exhibition began at the Mikasa
City Museum in Mikasa, Hokkaido, and remained there until September. From 9 October 2021 to 30 January 2022, it was housed in the Shimane Nature Museum of Mt. Sanbe in Ōda, Shimane, after which it traveled to the Toyohashi Museum of Natural History in Toyohashi, where it opened on 16 July 2022. A virtual tour of the Pokémon Fossil Museum debuted online that same month. A virtual reality (VR) headset may be used to explore the exhibition in addition to utilizing a smartphone or computer to do it virtually.
On Pokemap.net, you can now take a virtual tour of the Pokemon Fossil Museum, wander along the fossils and discover the history and mysteries of the creatures hidden in your favorite show and games.