Hunan Museum of Geology

　　Hunan Museum of Geology was founded in 1958. It is one of the earliest provincial geological museums in China and the largest natural science museum in Hunan province. It is a public welfare institution with full funding at provincial level. In order to implement the strategy of promoting the development of the province by culture, Hunan Museum of Geology was relocated and rebuilt with the approval of the provincial government in 2002. The main construction of the new museum was completed at the end of 2008, and the exhibition construction began at the end of 2009. On April 22, 2012, the new building was officially opened to the public. The new building covers an area of 4.8 hectares and a construction area of 20,000 square meters. It boasts precious collections, equipped with modern exhibition facilities and strong scientific research team.

　　The origin of the Hunan Museum of Geology can be traced back to the 1930s. Around 1932, Tian Qixi , known as "the pioneers of Hunan geological work", and other first-generation geologists in China used several old houses of the Hunan Geological Survey in No. 33 Shanglijiapo, Changsha for specimens display. Known as “Storage Room”, it is the predecessor of Hunan Museum of Geology.

　　In 1957, when the Hunan Office of the Ministry of Geology was established. It began to collect specimens and set up a exhibition hall in the Hunan Provincial Institute of Geology, Shengli Road, Changsha City. In 1975, the Hunan Provincial Bureau of Geology and Mineral Resources expanded the exhibition hall and renamed it as the “Hunan Museum of Geology”. On the National Day in 1980, the Geological Museum of Hunan Province was officially opened to the public. In 1985, State Vice President Wang Zhen visited the Hunan Museum of Geology and wrote the name of the museum with pleasure. Central leading comrades such as Rong Yiren and Mao Zhiyong, ambassadors to China from Denmark, Norway, Finland and other countries, politicians and international celebrities such as Moore of the International Museum of Museums have successively visited the museum and gave high praise.

　　湖南省地质博物馆始建于1958年，隶属于湖南省自然资源厅，正处级公益一类事业单位，国家二级博物馆，省地质遗迹(古生物化石）保护专家委员会办公室，是全省最大的免费开放自然科学类博物馆，也是全国最早的省级地质博物馆之一，全国最早以矿晶收藏展示为特色的博物馆之一，在全省乃至全国地学传播和自然资源科普教育领域具有重要地位。

　　2012年，湖南省地质博物馆迁建于湘府文化公园，场馆占地72亩，主体大楼建筑面积2万平方米，展厅面积8000平方米，是长沙南城“三馆一中心”的璀璨明珠。