Visitors may cruise the water route between Badouzi Fishing Port and Changtan Fishing Port, or may ride bicycles along the waterfront to begin a tour of embracing the ocean.

Restore fishing ports to their past when the ocean was connected to the lives of the people. The outdoor area will be constructed with water as the theme. Wading pools of different depths and landscape pools will be constructed to restore the area to its 1930s’ look.

Preserve the historical exterior of the power plant and its mysterious interior space. Renovate the existing structural frame, reinforce the building’s foundation, and give the structure brand new spatial functions to accommodate future exhibitions and outdoor activities.

Exhibition themes were publicly selected in December 2003. Five major themes were selected. They are, 1) life and the ocean, 2) marine science and technology, 3) marine and ecology, 4) the ocean and humanity, and 5) sustaining the ocean. The marine and ecology theme will mainly be the aquarium and will be invested and run by private operators.

Taking into consideration preserving the existing historical power plant structure and the needs of a museum exhibition, the unique generator and boiler rooms will be remodeled into the front hall of the NMMST. Virtual exhibition will be employed in the front hall to reveal the stunning beauty of an underwater world. In addition to having exhibitions gear towards students and family, a special children exhibition area will be included for young children and parents.

“Life and the ocean” will display the inseparable relationship that the ocean has with human, especially for the people of Taiwan, whose lives are intertwined with the ocean. The exhibition will demonstrate how human use their intelligence to utilize the rich resources of the ocean and apply them to daily living, and show how marine resources are important in the spread of cultures.

“Marine science and technology” will employ easy to understand materials to trigger visitors’ interest toward the ocean. Fun and educational displays will introduce visitors to marine explorations and research. Lively exhibition medium will help arouse interests in the ocean.

“Marine and ecology” will mainly be aquarium showcases of ecological environment of nearby northeast coastal water. The displays will be from shallow to deep water, beginning from intertidal zone, to sublittoral zone, to outer bay, to deep water zone to reveal each region’s unique characteristics and differences. Exhibitions will be divided into ecology of intertidal zone, ecology of sublittoral zone, ecology of outer bay, marine life of deep water, threatened marine creatures, and underwater world of harbors.

“Ocean and humanity” will be approached from the standpoint of humanity to create an environment to reflect the correlation between ocean and culture. Historical perspectives will be employed to show the close relationships that the ocean had with historical Taiwan. Regional perspectives will be used to chronicle the developmental changes of Taiwan coastlines and waters. Digital images of traditional and modern marine culture will walk visitors through a virtual timeline, transforming the exhibition hall into a connecting and sharing of marine experiences.

“Sustaining the ocean” will guide visitors to develop a proper concept for preserving marine ecology and effective use of marine resources. Exhibitions will begin with the marine environment that visitors are familiar with, and extend into local and global problems of pollutions to the ocean and environmental changes.

Since management of the NMMST will be divided between private operation and government operation, the administrative space will be simple and flexible. The administration center will have a director’s office, a deputy director’s office, administrative offices, archives room, publication room, and storage rooms.

Education promotion is an important mission of the NMMST. In the future, the education center will host educational activities and services in conjunction with the exhibition themes. Therefore, the education center is designed to accommodate educational, academic, and cultural activities. It has a video auditorium, discussion rooms (can be used as classrooms), library and audio-visual data room, reading room, audio-visual room, marine exploration study room, marine laboratory, storage room, exhibition preparatory studio, and an archives room.

As part of the education center’s mission to promote academic and research exchanges, the old employee living quarters will be converted into a service facility and dormitory to provide accommodations for visiting scholars, researchers, and participants of education activities. The old living quarters area is on a quiet and shaded hillside on the southern end of the NMMST. The service facility and dormitory will be low buildings to preserve the natural beauty of the area.