The Natural History Museum is a sophisticated and well organised centre with laid out information located inside the Ministry of Heritage and Culture complex in Al Khuwair in Muscat Governorate. Even though the museum is relatively small, it is considered as one of the most important museums that portray facets of life from the time of their first appearance in various forms in the country. The four main display areas are namely Oman – a nation that has diverse physical features, Oman through the geological ages, the varied wildlife of Oman and finally Whales and various creatures of the sea. Ruwi Hotel is a conveniently placed business hotel in Muscat for all the foreign travellers arriving in the city to visit the historical places and other sightseeing.
Most of the rich cultural heritage of Oman is beautifully preserved in many of the museums in Muscat, the capital of the country. Many of them such as the Bait Al Zubair Museum, a home, converted into a museum, the Omani Heritage Museum, the Children’s Museum and the Natural History Museum help visitors to cover the complete Omani history relating to ship building, Islamic Culture and fort architecture, that dates back to almost five thousand years.
Those visiting the Natural History Museum get to see rare exhibits like the traces of tree fossils that were supposed to have been found in Al Huquf about 260 million years ago, as well as coral reefs that date back to about 270 million years discovered in Wadi Aasahtan in Rustaq. Different aspects of life of different species of butterflies and reptiles are also on display. You can also get to see teeth of pre-historic animals that lived 15 to 35 million years back.
The first section of the museum features the map that showcases the overall features of the country along with an aerial view taken from satellites. In addition, six other different exhibits denote the various points that differentiate the Omani regions of Musandam, the Northern Mountains, Its Interior, Al-Batinah, the Omani Islands and Dhofar Mountains showing such wonderfully contrasting features of the land.
The next section is all about the diverse wildlife in Oman. Some really terrific exhibits are on display in this section such as the caracal lynx that is shown pouncing on a bird. There are exhibits of the Arabian Oryx, Arabian Tahr, Red Fox, Wolf and leopard.
Whale Hall is unique with giant exhibits of bones, skeletons and skulls belonging to whales and visitors can try to identify the various sizes and kinds of whales that live in the deep ocean floor.
A great display of plants is another interesting aspect of the museum too and one gets to learn about their behaviour, life patter and the many ways in which they survive in desert climatic conditions. The Natural History Museum has an excellent reputation for being authentic.
Varunajith Dayaratne is a creative nomadic travel writer, writing under the pen name, Sirius Black. He is well informed and experienced on a wide range of interests pertaining to the needs of any type of traveler. Google+
