Princess Maha Chakri Sirindhorn Natural History Museum

Coordinates: 7°00′28″N 100°29′49″E / 7.00773°N 100.49704°E / 7.00773; 100.49704

Princess Maha Chakri Sirindhorn Natural History Museum
Established	2008
Location	Prince of Songkla University, Hat Yai, Songkhla, Thailand
Type	Natural History
Collection size	50,000
Visitor figures	30,000 - 40,000 annually
Director	Chutamas Satasook
Website	www.nhm.psu.ac.th

The Princess Maha Chakri Sirindhorn Natural History Museum is a natural history museum in the Prince of Songkla University in southern Thailand. It was originally known as the Natural History Museum of Prince of Songkla University (PSU Museum). After a renovation, it was renamed and re-openned in 14 January 2008 by HRH Princess Maha Chakri Sirindhorn. The museum's three-storeyed exhibition building is located in the Faculaty of Science. The international PSU Herbarium is part of the museum, being located in the Department of Biology. The museum is considered as one of the most comprehensive natural history museums in the country.

The PSU Museum is a university's funded unit, having equal status to a faculty. However, it is still under inspection and assistance of the Faculty of science. The museum work closely to the Department of Biology and the Excellent Centre of Biodiversity of Penninsular Thailand (CBIPT) as the department and the CBIPT are the main contributors of specimens and research to the museum.

The museum's main collections are biological collections, only a small geological collection is stored and displayed. Its biological collections contains 50,000 specimens of 4,000 species of organisms and can be divided into 2 groups which are botanical collections (PSU Herbarium) and zoological collections. Some significant collections include vascular plant, seaweed, coral, crustacean, plankton, mollusc (in particular cephalopod), echinoderm, insect and vertebrate (in particular bat).

External links

• Official website