Gass Forest Museum Coimbatore

Gass Forest Museum Coimbatore

 

Gass Forest Museum is located at a distance of 4 km from Coimbatore Junction, In the campus of Forest College on Cowley Brown road in Coimbatore,Tamil Nadu,India.

 

Gass Forest Museum History :

 

The founder Horace Arichibald Gass, in the museum, Toward the end of the 19th century, an aborted attempt was made by J. A. Gamble, the conservator of forests for Madras Presidency to establish a forest museum in the province.

 

It was opened by Lord Ampthill, the then Governor of Madras Presidency in 15 April 1902 . In recognition of the tireless efforts of H.A. It was expanded in 1905 and 1915. In 1912, the Madras Forestry College (currently the Tamil Nadu Forest Academy) was established in the museum grounds to train foresters.

 

During 1942–47, the museum was closed and the buildings used as shelters for World War II evacuees from Malta and Greece. After Indian Independence in 1947, the museum came under the administration Government of Tamil Nadu.

 

It is currently run by the Institute of Forest Genetics and Tree Breeding (IFGTB), which is situated in the same campus.The museum was reopened for public on 1 May 2015 after carrying out renovation works.

 

Gass Forest Museum was started in one of the rooms of the conservator's office building and was expanded and shifted to the present building in the year 1915. It is made of red stone and built-in British Gothic style.

 

The beauty of this style of construction. The iron pillars used in the hall were specifically imported from the Great Britain. The building can withstand a perpendicular seismic impact because it draws its strength from the folding in all the four corners.

 

The museum building is over 100 years old. This museum is run by the Government of Tamil Nadu. The museum houses over 4000 exhibits in categories like wildlife, botany, timber, geology, ethnology, mycology, entomology and wood crafts.

 

The stuffed animals and reptiles that look very much alive. A stuffed wild Bison along with a sloth and a deer stand at the entrance of the museum.

 

A stuffed albino crow, and a full-grown male stuffed Indian guar which was gifted to the museum in 1956 by Jayachamaraja Wodeyar, the last Maharaja of the princely state of Mysore.

 

Apart from this one can see the stuffed animals like peacock, leopard, bramhini kite and others. This museum is the preserved baby elephant’s fetus, stuffed baby elephant and skeleton of the elephant.

 

For Exhinbits at Gass Forest Museumthose who love to explore nature, this museum is a great break. The artifacts are regularly polished and the formalin is changed regularly to maintain the moisture. The seeds, fungi and soil collection in the museum are changed monthly.

 

Apart from wildlife, the exhibits include weapons used in the olden days, wooden crafts, huge collection of insects, cultural artifacts and much more. The museum is surrounded by lawns with benches for sitting.

 

Remarkable among the exhibits is a 456-year-old cross section of teak with a girth of 5.7 m and an enormous 10.2 m high sandal tree weighing 1.75 tons. The geology section of the museum has sample exhibits from 135 countries.

 

Gass Forest Museum Coimbatore Timings : 9 M - 1 PM & 2 PM - 5 PM, Closed on Saturday, Sunday, & Pubic Holidays

 

Gass Forest Museum Coimbatore Entry : Rs. 40 for Adults, Rs. 20 for Children & Rs. 200 for Foreigners

 

Best time to visit Gass Forest Museum Coimbatore : January, February, March, April

 

Gass Forest Museum Coimbatore Address : Cowley Brown Road, RS Puram, Coimbatore, Tamil Nadu 641002, India

 

How to reach Gass Forest Museum Coimbatore :

 

By Bus :- The nearest bus stop to the museum is Shri Nehru Vidyalaya Bus Stop ( Lawley Road Bus Stop ) which is 2.4 km away from here.

 

By Rail :- The distance between Museum and Coimbatore Junction is 3.6 km, from here you can take a taxi.

 

By Air : - Coimbatore International Airport - The distance between CJB and the museum is 12.7 km.