Evidence of the birth of the solar system

The solar system began about 4.6 billion years ago as a cloud of gas and dust. Part of the cloud collapsed and compressed by gravity to form a flat spinning disc of dust and gas. Material gathered in the disc's center and a nuclear fusion began to form our Sun. The remaining material clumped together into bigger pieces to become planets including the Earth, asteroids and comets. Heavy elements sank to the center to form a core of the Earth and lighter elements created the crust.

Since 3.5 billion years ago, the cyanobacteria was able to produce oxygen from water through photosynthesis. Before this important event, there was no oxygen in water and land. Cyanobacteria still produces oxygen in present-day shallow seas like Shark Bay in Australia. The oldest stromatolite is found in Socheongdo in Korea and was formed about 1 billion years ago.

The Ediacara fossil group is believed to be the first fossil record of multicellular creatures living in the ocean about 600 million years ago after the end of the Sunkambria ice age. Most of them were flat in form because they tried to absorb oxygen more efficiently. They disappeared as ancestors of modern animals started to appear in the Cambrian period.

Dunkleosteus is a devonian placoderm that is 6m in length and it has a head covered with hard bony plates

Dinosaurs are a specie of reptile that lay eggs on land and has adapted to living on land. Dinosaurs are classified according to the shape of their hip bones, similar to that of either a lizard or a bird. In Korea, the skeletons of the Koreaceratops hwaseongensis was discovered in Kyeonggi-Do Hwasung city and the Koreanosaurus Boseongensis was discovered in the Jeollanam Do Boseong Gun.

In Korea, many cenozoic fossils were found in sedimentary rocks of the Pohang basin. Various invertebrates such as eucalypti, vultures, sea urchins, starfish, lobsters, sharks and protozoa were found in shallow waters.

The ancestors of modern elephants first appeared in the new age and evolved in many forms. Mammoths that lived during the ice age appeared about 5 million years ago and became extinct around 5,000 years ago. Most of the woolly mammoths in North America and Eurasia are estimated to be about 4 meters tall and weigh up to 8 tons, with their bodies covered with fur. It is believed that human race has hunted the mammoth to extinction.

The Eonyang amethyst is shaped like a mushroom, and at the beginning of its creation there was a colorless, transparent white quartz and above it a gray quartz. The analysis of the crystals and its inclusions show that the white quartz was formed at 400-500 degrees celsius and the gray quartz at 200-400 degrees celsius. As magma cooled deep underground, the amethysts were created by the heat pressure contained in air pockets.

The “Dino Hall” exhibit displays and explains the skeletons of the dinosaurs that roamed the Earth during the Mesozoic era. The dinosaurs that ruled the earth for about 150 millions were one of the most successful creatures in the evolution of life. They were said to have gone extinct around 66 million years ago and have evolved into birds in the sky, and are still with us.

A fish is made up of a head, body, tail and fins. They reproduce by laying eggs and most fish are covered with scales. They breathe with their gills underwater and swim with their fins. They are categorized as alligators without jaw bones. There are jawless fish with soft cartilage and fish with a jaw and hard cartilage. In Korea, there are about 1,200 kinds of fish; 200 of them live in fresh water and 60 are native species.

Amphibians have four legs and breed in the water by laying eggs. In their early stages of life, they live in the water and breathe with their gills and once they evolve to live on land, they breathe with their lungs. As they use the pore on their skin to breathe as well, they usually live in a humid environment so that their skin is moist. Amphibians are largely categorized into ones without tail (frogs and toads) and with tail (lizards). There are about 20 species of amphibians in Korea including 6 native species.

Reptiles breathe with their lungs and breed by laying eggs. Their eggs consists of a shell through which oxygen and carbon dioxide can pass and a membrane that prevents the inside from drying out. Their skin is covered with scales which keep the moisture in their body from escaping. Reptiles are largely classified by being fully covered in scales like crocodiles, being equipped with a shell like turtles, being without shell like lizards and being without shell or legs like a snake. There are 30 species of reptiles in Korea with no native species.

Birds have a toothless beak and front legs that evolved into wings. They breathe with their lungs and are covered with feathers. Feathers enable them to keep warm, dry and to stabilize them while in flight. In addition, their feathers are also used when mating ritual takes place. Most birds lay eggs in a nest. Birds are largely classified as song birds that make sound during the breeding season, water birds that can swim with their webbed feet, shore birds that can walk in shallow water to hunt, and there are predator birds that have strong beaks and claws. They are also classified by their habitat or season. There are about 500 species of birds in Korea with no native species.

Mammal’s teeth are categorized into front teeth, canine teeth and molar teeth. Carnivore mammals have sharp canine teeth and omnivore mammals have a diverse diet so all of their teeth are developed. Herbivore mammals have strong front and molar teeth to gnaw on plants and herbs. Some herbivores have developed canines as a defense mechanism. In addition, carnivores have their teeth more deeply rooted in their jaw than herbivores to bite and kill their prey.

Oriental White Stork

The oriental white stork belongs to the Ciconiidae stork family and is white with black wings. They live in lakes, outfalls, agricultural land, rivers and wetlands. They make their nests near village outskirts or old trees in the neighborhood and live in proximity with people. However as their habitats have started to disappear, use of pesticides started to increase, they slowly started to decrease in number. The last pair of storks were spotted in 1971 The last male was poached on the spot and the last female died in 1994.

Efforts to Restore Oriental White Storks

For the restoration of these species, the oriental white stork restoration center in Korea’s National University of Education has brought back the DNA of a similar baby stork from Amur, Russia in 1996. As of now 140 storks have been bred, of which 8 has been set free in the wild, and the rest will also periodically be set free.

Sturgeon

The sturgeon is a freshwater fish belonging to the family Acipenseridae. They have been spotted in the Han River, the Geumgang River, and the Yeongsangang River. The most recent capture of it was in December 1995 at the mouth of the Geumgang River. The over-harvest of Caviar (sturgeon egg), water pollution and habitat development have contributed to the decrease of the sturgeon population and the trading of them in Korea has been banned.

Efforts to Restore Surgeon

In order to restore them, national research is being done. In 2009, more than 1,300 sturgeon were brought in from North Korea and are being bred in the freshwater and seawater under restoration research initiativ.

Chinese Longsnout Catfish

The Chinese longsnout catfish belong to the family Siluriformes and Bagridae. This specie was widely dispersed throughout the Han River, Daedong River, Cheongcheon River, Imjin River and the Geumgang River up and around 1930. Habitat destruction due to water pollution and industrial construction, are presumed to be the main reason behind the extinction of these species in Korea.

Efforts to Restore the Chinese Longsnout Catfish

In order to restore these species, in 2000, the Central Waterfront Research Institute has imported a similar type of catfish from China and have succeeded in their breeding efforts in 2004. In 2016, 2,000 fish were released in the Geumgang River in efforts for restoration.

Birds have modified their bone structure to help enable them to fly effectively. The bones of mammals are filled with bone marrow while the bones of birds are hollow, making their bones lighter than that of mammals.

Herbivore dinosaurs have protected themselves from their predators in various ways. The anklosaurus had hard bony plates on its back and sides, which was hard for their predators to penetrate with their teeth. The club at the end of their tail was used to attack as well. The stegosaurus had bone plates on their back which helped them avoid attacks and also used the spikes on their tails to defend themselves.

Herbivore dinosaurs have protected themselves from their predators in various ways. The pachycephalosaurus has a skull thickness of 25cm ans used it to attack their predators. In addition, their twisted horns around their head are used in attack as well.