The NTU Museum of Zoology was established in 1928. Since the period of Taihoku Imperial University, the Museum has collected many precious animal specimens. The early specimens mainly record the fauna of native Taiwan and neighboring areas such as Southeast Asia and Hainan Island, including birds, mammals, shellfish, and corals. Later, in response to economic development, the Museum focused on the collection of rodents and fish. In recent years, collection has been primarily contingent on the faculty’s research interests. For example, systematic research has been underway to study annelid worms, a wide variety of fish larvae and juveniles, and small mammals such as bats and shrews. The collection comprises over 20,000 specimens.

Until 1999, most of the specimens were stored in aged wooden cabinets in NTU Building No. 1 near the main entrance of campus. Skeletal specimens of some large animals, such as ostriches and Malayan tapirs, were placed in the cabinets on both sides of the building’s entrance. Two whale skeletons, a small baleen whale and a pilot whale, were hanged from the ceiling of the hallway. The sight of those specimens has become a collective memory of many alumni. In 1999, these specimens were moved with the Department of Zoology from Building No. 1 to the Life Science Building near the NTU Farm. After some rearrangement, the specimens were again displayed, with simple explanatory texts, in the exhibition hall on the first floor of the Life Science Building.

Since 2007, the special exhibition “A New Experience of Life Science” has been ongoing in the exhibition hall. Specimens on display include a baleen whale, toothed whale, Asian elephant, and a number of birds. These specimens, integrated under the theme of “sound,” can show their diverse ecological characteristics and animal instincts on the one hand; on the other hand, visitors can get to know new aspects of life science from the exhibition.