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All Thailand Chiang Mai The World Museum of Insects and Natural Wonders
AO Edited

The World Museum of Insects and Natural Wonders

This extensive collection of dead bugs may be the world's most idiosyncratic and personal insect museum.

Chiang Mai, Thailand

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The World Museum of Insects and Natural Wonders  
The World Museum of Insects and Natural Wonders  
The World Museum of Insects and Natural Wonders  
He discovered the treatment for malaria, so … quite a few mosquitoes!   abauman / Atlas Obscura User
  hugh 30a9815a / Atlas Obscura User
You can almost hear one buzzing ever closer to your ear   abauman / Atlas Obscura User
  hugh 30a9815a / Atlas Obscura User
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About

This Thailand insect museum might not be the largest or most extensive collection in the world, but what it lacks in scale, it makes up for in homespun (not a spider joke) charm.

The World Museum of Insects and Natural Wonders is the work of husband and wife team Manop Ratana Rittirong Gul, and Rattana Rumpa Rittirong Gul, both former contributors to the Smithsonian. Rattana is a world leader in mosquito research and has contributed almost 500 species of mosquito to the world record, while her husband is a malaria expert. Together they are a husband and wife bug superteam. The walls of their small, multi-floor museum are covered in glass frames full of pinned insects of all varieties including stick insects, beetles, butterflies, and more. Each of the displays is annotated both by scientific info and personal asides. 

In addition to the insectoid taxidermy, the museum features a number of surreal works of art by the duo. There are paintings of women and horses cavorting with giant mosquitoes and rocks that are described as the eyes and meteors. Together, the eccentric collection is both surreal and a bit creepy. The pieces of art are also given informational plaques, but they are mostly filled with personal bits of mysticism that relate to the making and meaning of the works. 

It's not every museum that allows such an unvarnished look into the minds of its curators, and the combination of the clinical and personal at the site make for a strange, and unforgettable mixture. 

Related Tags

Insects Museums And Collections Museums Bug Week

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72 Srimankalajarn Road Nimmanhemin Soi 13 Muang Chiangmai, Mueang Chiang Mai District, Thailand

Don't be put off if the gate is closed with a sign saying you need to ring the bell. A lovely lady, the daughter of the original creators in our case, came and happily opened for us, and waited until we left a good while later. Part of the immense charm of the whole place.

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Traci

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PrestonW, Mom0ja, hrnick, Blindcolour...

  • PrestonW
  • Mom0ja
  • hrnick
  • Blindcolour
  • hugh 30a9815a
  • abauman

Published

June 22, 2016

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  • http://www.bbc.com/travel/story/20130131-chiang-mais-quirky-insect-wonderland Museums website:
  • http://www.tripadvisor.com/Attraction_Review-g293917-d1083787-Reviews-Museum_of_World_Insects_and_Natural_Wonders-Chiang_Mai.html
The World Museum of Insects and Natural Wonders
Soi 13
Chiang Mai, 50200
Thailand
18.796137, 98.97066
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Chiang Mai

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Wat Sri Suphan

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miles away

Elephant Nature Park

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