David G. Bromley

Museum of Alien Studies

MUSEUM OF ALIEN STUDIES TIMELINE

1947 (July):  A UFO incident occurred northwest of Roswell, New Mexico.

1973: J.  Allen Hyne founded the Center for UFO Studies (CUFOS) in Evanston, Illinois (later the J. Allen Hynek Center for UFO Studies) to collect and study UFO report documents.

1983:  The UFO Museum opened in Sonora, California.

1986 (January 29):  A UFO was reported to have crashed into Mount Izvestkovayaon near the town of  Dalnegorsk in Russia.

1991: The International UFO Museum and Research Center was established in Roswell, New Mexico.

1990s (Late):  Yi-Wen Chen began collecting artifacts in China he believed to be of extraterrestrial origin.

2003 (June 14):  The Museum of Alien Studies, Portland, Oregon opened.

2010 (May 22):  The Museum of Alien Studies opened in Taichung, Taiwan.

FOUNDER/GROUP HISTORY

There are a large number of UFO groups of various kinds around the world; religiously themed groups are an important subcategory (Lewis 1995; Partridge 2003; Bader, Mencken, and Baker 2011). UFO groups with a religious underpinning have employed a variety of information sources to validate their mythic systems, ritual practices, and organizational structures. These include testimonials by individuals who report seeing UFOs, photographs of purported UFOs in the sky, drawings of aliens who individuals encountered on Earth, accounts by individuals who report having been abducted by aliens, physical evidence of alien visitation (such as crop circles, unusually high radiation levels at alleged landing  places, and UFO artifacts). In addition, those supporting the presence of UFOs and/or aliens in our midst have created both research units and museums. Research units include the now defunct  National Investigations Committee On Aerial Phenomena (NICAP) and the Center for UFO Studies (CUFOS), founded in 1973 to study reports on UFO activity. Museums also have been established to house evidence that buttress UFO claims, and some museums have held exhibitions of alleged UFO materials. For example, there is a museum at Roswell, New Mexico, site of a famous alleged UFO incident, which is scheduled for renovation in 2017 (International UFO Museum website n.d.; Ricketts 2011; Tapie 2017; Wills 2017). Material from a reported UFO accident near the town of  Dalnegorsk in Russia in 1986 (sometimes referred to as the “Russian Roswell) was displayed in the Las Vegas National Atomic Testing Museum (Daily Mail Reporter 2012). Smaller, less stable museums have been constructed in Portland, Oregon (Johns 2003; Portland Alien Museum website n.d.)  and Sonora California  (“Museum is Offering 1983).

The most recent and largest museum of putative alien material is the Museum of Alien Studies in Taichung, Taiwan, which opened in 2010. [Image at right] It opened after Yi-Wen Chen, who was the Executive Director of the World Public Welfare Association in Taiwan, donated  his personal collection of artifacts he had collected in China to the new museum. Yi-Wen Chen had spent thirteen years gathering the materials, which were believed to contain magnetic fields not of terrestrial origin.

DOCTRINES/RITUALS

The museum teaches that there are alien civilizations in deep space that are much more advanced than human civilization. Aliens have ”light (electromagnetic) bodies.” Not only are alien civilizations more advanced, they evolve at a much more rapid rate. As a result, “their wisdom, humanity and bravery exceed that of humans 100 to 1000 times and above!” (Museum of Alien Studies n.d.a). They do not communicate through language as humans but rather communicate through electric waves.

Aliens were the creators of the first humans; wizards and witches were in the first group of humans created by aliens. Some members of alien civilizations currently reside on Earth, comprising approximately ten percent of Earth’s population. These entities possess “alien souls that incarnate into bodies because of fate, body-soul connections, soul activation and guidance and training“ (Museum of Alien Studies n.d.c). Alien spirits exert enormous influence on the human bodies they inhabit. One member of the museum staff stated that “To us, Albert Einstein, Adolph Hitler and Sun Yat-sen were all aliens. They were either great men or extremely evil, which is a sign they have been affected by alien spirits” (“Taiwan Exhibit” 2010).

There are a number of varieties of aliens: Wai Lai Aliens, Wai Qi Aliens, Wai Ran Aliens, Wai Sa Aliens, Wai Yi Aliens, Wai Ming Aliens, Wai Dao Ming Aliens, Wai Ji Aliens, Wai Xin Aliens, and Wai You Aliens  (Museum of Alien Studies n.d.a). Each type of alien group possesses attributes that can assist and advance humanity:

Wai Lai Aliens are humanity’s protectors and guardians.

Therefore Wai Lai Aliens Protect • Safeguard • Educate and Maintain Harmony etc. : Mutual Assistance, Mutual Success.

Wai Qi Aliens maintain humanity’s qi (energy) field.

Wai Ran Aliens are humanity’s problem-solvers.

Wai Sa Aliens destroy in order to recreate.

Wai Yi Aliens instruct and influence governance and policies for humanity.

Wai Ming Aliens create and provide forecasts, predictions and intuitions for humanity.  They possess an increased state of sensitivity towards Nature and life’s cycles.

Wai Dao Ming Aliens create predictions and prophecies that are highly accurate.

Wai Ji Aliens help humanity come to completion and perfection in matters.

Wai Xin Aliens help humanity to persevere and see things to the end, while maintaining the original intention throughout the process.

Wai You Aliens help humanity to understand the natural laws and be able to complete matters according to these laws.

Because the Museum houses the alien artifacts, the interior energy and magnetic fields are extraterrestrial rather than earthly in nature. The artifacts are used to teach humans how to “duplicate aliens’ strengths and advantages; about the everlasting existence of matter and energy; to understand the world and universe’s state of existence—so all life can exist eternally” (Museum of Alien Studies n.d.a). Each artifact in the Museum has its own unique energy properties. Those energy properties can be used by participants to heal and protect them as the appropriate alien can transform harmful energies. Individuals can even select a specific alien “sponsor” who will protect them.

ORGANIZATION/LEADERSHIP

The 22,000 square-foot museum, which is located in Taichung, Taiwan, presents itself as the world’s first museum of alien studies. The museum defines its mission as “Transmitting and Translating Extraterrestrial Culture and Mechanics into human language and concepts (Museum of Alien Studies website n.d.b).  Yi-Wen Chen is the primary contributor of museum artifacts; she is also Executive Director of the World Public Welfare Association, “a non-profit organization that facilitates leadership development according to each individual soul’s potential” (Museum of Alien Studies website n.d.a). The Director of the museum is Hui-Jun Yang. The Assistant Director, Shirley Hsin-I Liu, has studied a variety of training techniques (Vipassana meditation, Isha Yoga, Xian Tian I Ching, Xian Tian Tarot, and Xian Tian Knife Massage Therapy) that allow “your soul’s power and potential, accumulated from lifetime to lifetime, to be activated and transformed into real-world ability” (Hsin-I Liu  2010).

The centerpiece of the museum artifacts is a collection of 1888 alien artifacts, principally from the personal collection of Yi-Wen Chen. [Image at right] The majority of these artifacts were discovered in Xinjiang Province in China. The unique quality of these artifacts is that they contain unique electromagnetic fields that are not found on Earth. These fields contain information that has the potential to dramatically improve numerous aspects of human culture and advance the speed of human evolution.

ISSUES/CHALLENGES

UFO claims and presentations of all types (UFO sightings, abduction narratives, artifact collections) continue to be vigorously challenged by the scientific community (Switek 2012). As one commentator put the matter, “The only fact that has been scientifically confirmed is that there are forms of life on other planets… it is difficult to prove that human beings are able to communicate with extraterrestrial life forms by electromagnetic waves…” (“Taiwan Exhibit” 2010).  Another critic stated that these claims are “largely social constructions created by interpretive communities that work to re-enchant believers and tourist-pilgrims who seek deep meanings in sacred geographies” (Ricketts 2011). At the same time, UFO conferences, abduction narratives, support groups, books and films continue to flourish. As one observer noted, “The alternate [scientific] narrative isn’t very compelling, which explains why conferences and museums on existentialism, if they existed, would draw far smaller crowds than Myrtle Beach’s “UFO Experience” and D.C.’s recent UFO hearings” (Dewey 2013).

IMAGES
Image #1: Photograph of the Museum of Alien Studies entry sign.
Image #2: Photograph of some of the Museum of Alien Studies artifacts.

REFERENCES

Bader, Christopher, F. Carson Mencken, and Joseph Baker. 2011. Paranormal America: Ghost Encounters, UFO Sightings, Bigfoot Hunts, and Other Curiosities in Religion and Culture. New York: New York University Press.

Daily Mail Reporter. 2012. “Authentic  Alien Artifact’: Why is a Smithsonian-linked Museum Showing ‘Real’ Bits of UFOs? Daily Mail, March 26. Accessed from http://www.dailymail.co.uk/news/article-2120790/Smithsonian-associated-museum-unveils-exhibit-UFO-extraterrestrial-related-items.html  on 18 December 2017.

Dewey, Caitlin. 2013. “The Fear That Drives Our Alien Belief.” Washington Post, May 14. Accessed from  https://www.washingtonpost.com/news/…/wp/…/the-fear-that-drives-our-alien-belief/ on 18 December 2017.

Farrelly, Paul. 2011. “Taiwan’s Museum of Alien Studies: a new view of the extraterrestrial.” Erelai, June 21. Accessed from http://www.erenlai.com/en/item/5613-taiwan-s-museum-of-alien-studies-a-new-view-of-the extraterrestrial.html on 16 December 2017.

Hsin-I Liu, Shirley.  2010. “The Soul’s Journey: Find Your Way Back Home.” Accessed from https://highestreality.files.wordpress.com/2010/04/reading-for-tiffany.jpg on 12 December 2017.

International UFO Museum website. n.d. Accessed from http://www.roswellufomuseum.com/ on 16 December 2017.

Johns, Lawrence. 2003. First Museum Of Alien Studies Opens In Portland.” Rense.com, June 6. Accessed from http://www.rense.com/general38/port.htm on 16 December 2017.

Lewis, James R. 1995. The Gods Have Landed. Albany: State University of New York Press.

“Museum is Offering a Close Encounter with U.F.O Studies.” 2012. New York Times, December 12. Accessed from http://www.nytimes.com/1983/12/12/us/museum-is-offering-a-close-encounter-with-ufo-studies.html  on 16 December 2017.

Museum of Alien Studies website. n.d.a  “Introduction.” Accessed from https://museumofalienstudies.wordpress.com/introduction/ on 15 December 2017.

Museum of Alien Studies website. n.d.b. “World’s First.” Accessed from https://museumofalienstudies.wordpress.com/worlds-first/ on 12 December 2017.

Museum of Alien Studies website. n.d.c. “Why is the Museum of Alien Studies Here on Earth?” Accessed from https://museumofalienstudies.wordpress.com/why-earth/ on 12 December 2017.

Partridge, Christopher, ed. 2003. UFO Religions. New York: Routledge.

Portland Alien Museum website. n.d. “History of PAM.” Accessed from http://portlandalienmuseum.com/history/ on 16 December 2017.

Ricketts, Jeremy. 2011. “Land of (Re) Enchantment: Tourism and Sacred Space at Roswell and Chimayó, New Mexico.”  Journal of the Southwest  53:239-61.

Switek, Brian. 2012. “The Idiocy, Fabrications and Lies of Ancient Aliens.” Smithsonian.com, May 11. Accessed from https://www.smithsonianmag.com/science-nature/the-idiocy-fabrications-and-lies-of-ancient-aliens-86294030/ on 18 December 2017.

“Taiwan Exhibit Aims to Show Aliens Dwell in Our Midst.” 2010. China Daily, March 26. Accessed from http://www.chinadaily.com.cn/hkedition/2010-03/26/content_9644251.htm on 16 December 2017.

Tapia, Leonard. 2017. UFO Museum in Roswell to Get Modern Update. KOB4, March 24. Accessed from http://www.kob.com/new-mexico-news/ufo-museum-in-roswell-to-get-modern-update/4435533/ on 16 December 2017.

Wills, Matthew. 2017. “Roswell, Sacred Shrine of UFO Enthusiasts.”  JSTOR Daily, July 8. Accessed from https://daily.jstor.org/roswell-sacred-shrine-of-ufo-enthusiasts/ on 16 December 2017.

Wong, Edward. 2016. “China Telescope to Displace 9,000 Villagers in Hunt for Extraterrestrials.” New York Times, February 17. Accessed from https://www.nytimes.com/2016/02/18/world/asia/china-fast-telescope-guizhou-relocation.html on 18 December 2017.

Post Date:
20 December 2017

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