Nha Trang Oceanography Institute

Nha Trang Institute of Oceanography is the first destination in the Nha Trang city tour called: Nha Trang City Tour. There are 04 points that you can visit:

First point: Institute of Oceanography

Second point: Hon Chong

Third point: Ponagar tower

Fourth point: Stone church.

Fifth point: Long Son Pagoda

You can also go sightseeing Nha Trang island tour After visiting the Institute of Oceanography because it's quite convenient. From here to the Port Tam island or Nha Trang Tourist Pier are very close and convenient.

History of Nha Trang Institute of Oceanography

Nha Trang Institute of Oceanography has an English name of Museum of Oceanography was established on September 14, 1922, during the French colonial period. This is considered one of the earliest scientific research facilities established in Vietnam. At the same time, Nha Trang Institute of Oceanography is a leading research facility in marine biology and oceanography in Vietnam.

The Museum of Oceanography was established from the early days of the establishment of the Institute of Oceanography (1922), formerly known as Specimen Museum (French name is Muséum de Référence) serves the research of marine biological samples by scientists.

The specimen museum also has the function of exchanging specimens with other museums around the world such as the Paris Museum of Natural History and the British Museum of Natural History. By 1948 the museum had stored 42,000 samples of marine life.

In addition to the Specimen Museum serving scientific research, Cau Da Aquarium Museum has also completed the construction of 23 new aquariums and opened them to serve visitors in 1941 (The museum has welcomed visitors since 1938). ; In 1943, the common name was Sea Museum).

Where is Nha Trang Ocean Institute?

Located at 01 Cau Da, next to the border station and Nha Trang port authority, Nha Trang Institute of Oceanography includes administrative subdivisions, functional departments and the Museum of Oceanography. Visiting Nha Trang Institute of Oceanography means you are visiting the Museum of Oceanography.

To get to Nha Trang Institute of Oceanography, from the city center, go towards Vinpearl Nha Trang, the Institute of Oceanography is located next to Nha Trang port, near Cau Da Port (decommissioned) and Hon Tam Port. You can take a personal vehicle (parking from 4,000 to 20,000 VND) or go by car. Taxi

Tour map of Nha Trang Museum of Oceanography shows 05 visiting areas.

1. Lake for marine life and mangrove forests

Division No. 1 is located right at the entrance of the Museum of Oceanography. The Aquarium system of the Museum of Oceanography is currently arranged in a space of 5000m2 with a complex of marine aquariums that regularly raise more than 300 typical and very valuable marine species:

• Sea turtle
• Shark
• Ray
• Lamprey
• Grouper
• Living coral
• Various types of marine ornamental fish, lobsters

Right behind the cute lakes is an area of Lilac Crocodile, because of the aggressive nature of the species, they are kept in areas with high-strength glass cages. This is one of the largest reptiles alive today.

Adult Hoa Ca crocodiles can be up to 7 meters long and weigh more than 1 ton. Females are smaller and longer than males and are usually no more than 3 meters long. This is also the most widely distributed crocodile species around the world. Hoa Ca crocodile can live in many different areas: salt water, fresh water and even brackish water.

Right behind the crocodile pond is Mini beach created by the strait between Nha Trang port and the coral restoration area of the Institute of Oceanography. Here there is a miniature version of the Truong Sa sovereignty column.

>> See more: Nha Trang tram

2. Extremely large specimen!

Specimens have been collected and searched for decades. Three large specimens arranged in a space of up to 200m2 have become a particularly impressive highlight in the journey to visit the Museum of Oceanography.

• The giant Humpback Whale (Megaptera novaeangliae) skeleton (18 meters long, weighing 10 tons) has been buried in the ground in the Red River Delta for at least more than 200 years;

• Dugong dugong skeleton, this is a rare marine mammal in danger of extinction;
• Manta birostris weighs nearly 1 ton, is 3.5 m long, 5 m wide.

3. Artificial reef (This area is not very beautiful)

Artificial reefs are underwater structures built by humans using materials of natural or artificial origin to enrich aquatic life in poor bottom areas. In fact, this is a research-oriented area of the Institute of Oceanography, so... it's not very eye-catching. Here, people built a glass tank system, with many coral clusters and some species of sea fish.

4. Sea and Island Resources of Hoang Sa - Truong Sa

The Hoang Sa - Truong Sa marine resources exhibition area is designed in a tunnel through Bao Dai mountain, nearly 100 meters long and about 5 meters high. The construction of the Hoang Sa - Truong Sa marine resources display area helps the public better understand the economic values, ecological environment, and national defense and security on the two sacred archipelagos of the Fatherland. Thereby raising awareness and love for these two archipelagos.

 Coming here, visitors can admire hundreds of biological samples taken from the Hoang Sa - Truong Sa waters such as:

• Sharp-tailed sunfish were taken from Truong Sa in 1998
• Giant grouper mackerel weighs 70 kg and is 4 meters long from Truong Sa.
• Corals, giant clams, conchs, golden snails, and conch snails with very unique shapes.
• In addition, there are geological samples collected in the above two archipelagos such as: volcanic bombs collected in 1989 on Phan Vinh island (belonging to Truong Sa archipelago), various types of coral limestone, biological shells...
• At the gallery, there is also a marine biology area where visitors can see living creatures, which are typical species distributed in the Hoang Sa - Truong Sa islands, domesticated and artificially reproduced. at the Institute of Oceanography.

5. Marine biodiversity subdivision

The diverse display area is where marine life samples are displayed and preserved - the largest source of marine heritage in Vietnam today. This place is storing and preserving a large and precious set of marine life samples with about 23,000 samples of 5,000 species (groups: marine plants, sponges, intestines, molluscs, crustaceans, tough skin, fish, Reptiles, Marine Mammals).

The marine biological sample set includes species existing in Vietnam's sea and neighboring waters. In addition to samples with scientific value, the Museum also preserves many rare samples such as:

• Sturgeon (Acipenser sinensis)
• King Crab (Paralithoides sp.)
• Sharp-tailed Sunfish (Masturus lanceolatus)
• Giant clam (Tridacna gigas) weighs 145kg
• Giant flying squid (Thysanoteuthis rhombus)
• Pseudorca crassidens (Pseudorca crassidens)
• Hai Cau (Phoca larga)

In October 2012, the Museum of Oceanography was officially established and announced by the Vietnam Record Book Center (VietKings) as "The place to store the largest collection of marine life samples".

Ticket price to visit the Museum of Oceanography (Nha Trang Institute of Oceanography)

Adult ticket price: 40,000 VND/ticket

Student ticket price: 20,000 VND/ticket

Children under 6 years old: free.

Note:

The images in the article were taken by author Tuan Vu in December 2023. The article uses some materials from Nha Trang Oceanography Institute

Nha Trang Institute of Oceanography opens from 7am. After finishing this attraction, you can go along the beach to reach the second destination of City Tour Nha Trang Hon Chong