University museums drawing crowds with research dazzle

University-run museums are gaining attention not only for their free admission but also for in-depth exhibitions that reflect their latest achievements in research.

Drinking it up: People view bottles of renowned sake from across the nation at the Food and Agriculture Museum at the Tokyo University of Agriculture in Setagaya Ward, Tokyo. KYODO PHOTO

A guidebook published this month on some 100 university-run museums in the Tokyo area may prompt more people to seek intellectual stimulation at the exhibitions.

Tokyo Daigaku Hakubutsukan Guide (Tokyo University Museum Guide), written by freelance journalist Satoru Otsubo, 41, delves into various campus exhibition corners recently opened to the public, including exhibitions on art and architecture and showings of industrial machines that are set in motion before people's eyes.

Admission isn't necessary at most of the museums, making them a bargain in these recessionary times.

"When you see an industrial machine actually working before your eyes, you can surely get a kick out it," Otsubo said.

The Food and Agriculture Museum at Tokyo University of Agriculture in Setagaya Ward is especially popular for its sake collection.

The museum showcases about 300 bottles of renowned sake from across the nation, with staff versed in sake brewing technology offering in-depth guidance to visitors.

The museum has seen some 800,000 visitors since it opened five years ago.

Not far from the sake museum is another managed by a semigovernmental institution conducting research on human evolution. The museum has proved popular for family visitors because they can closely watch monkeys from Madagascar and other animal species.

Nationwide, there are some 280 exhibitions offered by educational and research institutions, including those by vocational schools.