RECREATION, SPORTS AND THE ARTS
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50 new exhibits, most of which are visitor-participatory, audio-visual or computer- interactive. Around 140 000 people visited the exhibition halls during the year.
Recladding the museum's dome with light grey tiles was also completed during the year, which gave the museum a fresh, new appearance.
During the year, major attractions in the museum's Space Theatre included three Omnimax film shows To the Limit, Race the Wind and The Deepest Garden, three sky shows, Passport to Mars, Destination: Universe, and The Enigma of Time, and two educational programmes for students, The Magic Sky and The New Solar System. These attracted around 0.45 million people.
The museum published the 1992 Astro-Calendar. Other activities included eight lectures, 10 courses and 24 film shows on astronomy, space science and related topics.
Hong Kong Science Museum
The $340 million Hong Kong Science Museum was officially opened by the Governor on April 18, 1991. The museum comprises a four-storey building with an area of 13 500 square metres, and has about 500 exhibits, a central piazza and a landscaped garden linked with the surrounding area by a walkway system.
The exhibits cover basic science principles, mathematics, earth science, life science, the daily application of technology such as home technology, energy, communication and - transportation, and high-tech exhibits such as computers and robotics. The most prominent
exhibit is a 20-metre high energy machine which is the largest of its kind in the world.
Besides the 6 500 square metre exhibition halls for permanent exhibits, the museum also has a 295-seat lecture hall and a 730 square metre special exhibition hall for public hire. Other facilities include a gift shop, a snack bar and activities rooms.
To supplement the exhibition programme, the museum also organised a wide range of science activities to promote public interest in learning science. A series of programmes was launched including lectures by Nobel Prize Laureate, Professor Yang Chen-ning and scholars from the Imperial College, fun-science competitions, science entertainment shows, and sponsors and community nights.
The museum also sponsored science and technology activities arranged by other organisations at the museum, such as the Fighting Diabetes Campaign 1991, Anti-smoking Carnival, and The Inauguration of the International Federation of Association for the Advancement of Science and Technology. A special exhibition on Mount Everest, jointly presented by the Urban Council and the Boston Museum of Science, was also held in the Special Exhibition Hall.
From its official opening by the Governor in April to the end of 1991, the museum attracted 62 000 visitors.
Conservation Service
The work of caring for and maintaining the museum's varied collections of art works and historic artifacts is undertaken by a group of specialist conservators. The Urban Services Department's Conservation Section has developed special expertise to treat easel paintings, paper based materials, textiles and sculptures, including metal and objects such as ceramics, ethnographic materials, furniture and other wood based artifacts, as well as plastic and other modern materials.