SURAT THANI, Thailand – Natural Resources and Environment Minister Suchart Chomklin presided over the opening ceremony of the Surat Thani Fossil, Geology, and Natural History Museum on August 28, providing Southern Thailand with a new center for science education, research, and natural-history tourism. Built between 2010 and 2023 on about 10 rai, the museum houses geological resources, fossils, and other evidence tracing the region’s natural history.
The museum serves as a learning center for Thailand’s prehistoric seas and geological disasters in the South. Exhibitions trace Earth’s history from its formation about 4.6 billion years ago and explore rocks, minerals, fossils, evolution, and natural hazards. Visitors can also experience cave recreations, a traditional Southern Thai fishing boat, a dinosaur park, and an earthquake simulator.
Key exhibits include a roughly 500-million-year-old trilobite fossil discovered on Ko Tarutao in Satun province, described as the oldest found in Thailand. The collection also features a 280-million-year-old sawshark fossil from Mu Ko Ang Thong National Park in Surat Thani, reportedly discovered at the only known site of its kind in Southeast Asia. The museum is set to become a major educational resource for students, researchers, and the public, while encouraging interest in science and natural resource conservation. (NNT)
