was laid in the period of Dutch colonization. In particular, since the beginning of the 19th century, there were established laboratories and professional schools focused primarily on improving the efficiency of colonial agriculture. In the late 19th – early 20th centuries major scientific institutions were established – the Research Institute and Rubber Research Institute of Forest. The prevailing profile of research and academic activity was retained in Bogor Indonesia after gaining independence. As in the second half of the 20th century, in the 2000s the strongest areas were agricultural, biology, and veterinary sciences. The main educational and scientific center with the utmost national importance is IPB University, which in addition to educational facilities, includes dozens of research centers and laboratories. Bogor hosts the global headquarters of the Center for International Forestry Research (CIFOR), an international organization conducting research on forestry and human development. The headquarters of the Organisation for the Preservation of Birds and their Habitat are also in Bogor. The literacy rate in Bogor (98.7%) is relatively high for Indonesia. IPB University () is the main agricultural university of the country. It was founded in 1963 based on the agricultural college, which was established back in the 19th century by the Dutch colonial administration. The largest private universities are Pakuan, Juanda, Nusa Bangsa and Ibn Khaldun. In addition to regular schools, there are over 700 Muslim schools (madrasah) and several Christian schools and colleges. Most scientific research in Bogor is carried out in agriculture, soil science, dendrology, veterinary and ichthyology. More specific areas include natural pesticides and repellents, intercropping, industrial applications of essential oils and natural alkaloids, increasing yields of various kinds of pepper, improving preservation processes, etc. Culture Bogor was the capital of the Sundanese kingdom in the Middle Ages. Sundanese culture was dominant in the same way as the city of Bandung. Bogor is one of the leading cities of Indonesia by the number of museums, some of which are among the oldest and largest in the country. The Zoological Museum () which was opened in 1894 by the Dutch colonial administration as an adjunct to the Botanic Gardens and contains thousands of exhibits. Other prominent museums are more recent. The museum of ethnobotany () was opened in 1982 and has more than 2000 exhibits; the museum of the earth (, 1988) displays hundreds of soil and rock samples from different parts of Indonesia; the museum of