The NTU Department of Geoscience boasts a rich collection of over 3,500 specimens, including rocks, minerals, and fossils. The specimens are excellent in terms of quality and quantity and collected from various sources. Some are geoscience research specimens from the Faculty of Science and Agriculture during the Taihoku Imperial University period, some are from private collections donated by retired professors, some are specimens ordered from abroad for instructional purposes, while others are rocks, fossils, and minerals that faculty and students have picked up in nature over the years. As the Department of Geoscience has a long history, its facilities were in dire need of upgrade. To meet demand for visits, former Department Chair Liu Tsung-kwei, along with assistant Wu Wen-xiong, launched a project in 2002 to label and archive invaluable specimens for instructional and research purposes. The NTU Geo-specimen Cottage was inaugurated on March 7, 2003, and serves as a shelter and display room for these priceless specimens. The NTU Geo-specimen Cottage became a member of the NTU Museums Group in 2007, where it collaborates with other museums by creating decent spaces for collections, exhibits, and promotion. Aside from its original purpose as a teaching institution, the NTU Geo-specimen Cottage hopes to embrace the public, provide social services, and bring new light to the iconic NTU brand.

The NTU Geo-specimen Cottage is located next to the rear building of the Department of Geoscience. The cylindrical skylight, black tiles, and pentagon windows are classic features of a Japanese-style building, while the interior beams are made with Taiwan cypress and connected by mortise and tenon joints. Although it has witnessed 80 years of history, the building seems untouched by time and remains one of the most well-preserved Japanese-style buildings on campus. Rocks and mineral specimens from the past are often on display in the right-side cabinet in the Cottage. To share geoscience knowledge with the public, different exhibitions are held from to time to time in the same area as well. From exploring Taiwan’s geo-environment to displaying the department’s prolific research, the exhibits are exciting, fun, and educational. By putting up vivid, interesting illustrations and descriptions along with the specimens, the NTU Geo-specimen Cottage hopes to turn puzzling, esoteric geoscience theories into everyday knowledge. It aims to let visitors gain further understanding about the land we are living on and invoke the emotional attachment we have with our homeland.