Evolution is the theme at this museum, set in a 1930s former bank: evolution of life, evolution of money and banking, and evolution of the bank from the Japanese colonial era to modern Taipei. It's an odd juxtaposition but the displays, from soaring sauropod fossils to the open bank vault, are well presented and rich in details. Ticket includes admission to the National Taiwan Museum. Recent additions of virtual- and augmented-reality displays make it a good choice for children.
The original building opened in 1933 as the Kangyo Bank and is a mix of western and Japanese styles. The 1st-floor exhibit takes you into the old bank vault for a look at money, lending facilities and bank machinery. The fossil display area includes full replicas of a tyrannosaur, a triceratops, a sauropod, and fossil elephants from Penghu that you can examine from toes to nose from the staircase that winds round the atrium. Don't miss the nest of dinosaur eggs.
The Land Bank may be the only place in the world where you can put your feet up and have a cup of coffee while overlooking a diorama of dinosaur skeletons.
