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Busan Marine Natural History Museum to Hold “The Adventures of Coelacanth” as 2025 Special Exhibition

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Busan Marine Natural History Museum (hereinafter referred to as “the Museum”) announced that it will host the 2025 special exhibition “The Adventures of Coelacanth” for 197 days from today (July 4) until February 22, 2026, at its Special Exhibition Hall.

This exhibition, planned as a themed exhibition on marine natural history, aims to present the concept of living fossils in a fun and accessible way through the Museum’s representative exhibit—the coelacanth* fossil.

* Coelacanth: A deep-sea fish from the lobe-finned fish family. First discovered in 1938 in the waters near South Africa, its existence stirred considerable interest as it had only been known from fossil records of the Paleozoic and Mesozoic eras. The coelacanth's distinctive limb-like fins, and its fossil-like appearance, have earned it the nickname “living fossil.” Coelacanths are currently found near the coasts of East Africa and Indonesia.

In particular, the exhibition will feature a variety of content that allows visitors to explore both the biological characteristics of the coelacanth and the common misconceptions surrounding living fossils in an engaging and educational manner.

The exhibition will display about 50 specimens and relics provided through the cooperation of several institutions including the Geological Museum of the Korea Institute of Geoscience and Mineral Resources and the Pukyong National University Museum.

The exhibition is composed of the following three main sections:

• 1.All About Coelacanth
  This section traces the discovery of the coelacanth in December 1938, once thought to be extinct. It offers an easy-to-understand and engaging explanation of how the coelacanth was discovered and studied, using actual fossil specimens and photographs.

• 2.Friends of Coelini
  Focusing on the theme “Misunderstandings and Truths About Living Fossils,” this section dispels myths such as the idea that living fossils have not evolved or that they have remained unchanged for hundreds of millions of years. It also provides comparisons between fossil and preserved specimens.

• 3.Adventures with Coelini
  This interactive section invites visitors to journey through the geologic eras alongside Coelacanth. Highlights include a maze experience where visitors search through different exhibition corners to complete an adventure map, and a connected stamp tour.

Additional interactive experiences include:

• ●A time-travel themed game where visitors journey through the geologic timeline with Coelini

• ●Completing a stamp tour while navigating the maze

• ●Reading books related to coelacanths and fossils

• ●Voting for and leaving messages to the organisms most likely to survive a million years into the future

Admission to the exhibition is free. For more information, visit the museum website (busan.go.kr/sea) or call 051-550-8825.

Director Lee Hyang-suk of the Busan Marine Natural History Museum stated, “This exhibition, with its adventurous format featuring the coelacanth, will offer families an enjoyable experience. We hope many citizens will find this exhibition an opportunity to become more familiar with fossils.”