Natural History Museum of Tribhuvan University, Kathmandu

The Natural History Museum of Tribhuvan University in Kathmandu serves as a prominent repository and research facility for the country’s biodiversity. Located near the Swayambhunath World Heritage Site, the museum was founded in 1975 and has since amassed a collection of approximately 50,000 specimens representing Nepal's flora and fauna.

The museum's comprehensive collection includes significant numbers of insects with 14,843 specimens of butterflies and moths, 4,142 beetles, 1,464 of dragonflies, and 1,604 of other insects. Its vertebrate collections include six lower chordates, 890 fish, 107 amphibians, 390 reptiles, 1,194 birds, and 225 mammals. Notable displays include the spiny babbler, Nepal's only endemic bird species, and the golden pheasant, an exotic bird from China. The museum also features an impressive Atlas moth specimen, the largest moth species globally.

In addition to its biological collections, the museum houses 22 skeletons, 964 fossils and various animal body parts, 107 plastic-clay models, and 74 rock and mineral specimens. Its botanical and mycological collections are equally extensive, including specimens of algae, fungi, mushrooms, lichens, bryophytes, pteridophytes, gymnosperms, and angiosperms.

Historically significant items include a fossilized skull of the Archidiskodon, dating back about 3 million years, and molar teeth of Sivapithecus, estimated to be between 8-10 million years old. These specimens provide valuable insights into the prehistoric biodiversity of the region.

The museum is also a knowledge hub, having published the Journal of Natural History Museum annually since 1977 — Nepal's oldest nature journal — alongside numerous books and field guides on local wildlife. These publications have contributed significantly to the scientific and educational landscape of Nepal, enhancing understanding and appreciation of the nation's natural heritage.