RECREATION, SPORTS AND THE ARTS
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students and teachers, family activities and children's programmes with an attendance of over 43 100.
A life-size robotic Tyrannosaurus Rex gave the museum an eye-catching attraction on its Piazza in early 1997. This much-photographed exhibit acted as a magnet for the thematic exhibition Prehistoric Giants, which was presented till May 1997, featuring 17 robotic prehistoric reptiles and eight interactive exhibits. A wide range of activities was arranged to complement the special exhibition, including a science forum, three science lectures, 16 weekend programmes, eight fun science experiments, 44 slide and video shows and a drawing competition for primary students.
The Tsing Ma Bridge, the world's longest combined road and rail suspension bridge, connects Hong Kong to the new airport and hence the rest of the world. To celebrate the official opening of the Tsing Ma Bridge, the British Council and the Provisional Urban Council jointly presented a Living Bridges exhibition in the Museum in May 1997. Living Bridges also reviewed the history of the 'inhabited bridge' -one with living/work spaces and looked at its potential for the enhancement of cities in general.
The MegaBugs exhibition staged in the Museum from December 1997, featured nine monster-sized robotic insects and arthropods. They overwhelmed visitors by their huge size, realistic appearance and well-engineered animation sequence.
The museum continued to provide strong support to schools interested in staging in-school exhibitions. The travelling exhibition, Your Eyes, was available for use by schools, and more than 10 000 students benefited from its hands-on exhibits.
Hong Kong Space Museum
In April, the Hong Kong Space Museum arranged public viewing sessions of the Comet Hale-Bopp which attracted 1 270 spectators. During the year, it organised 108 extension activities with over 12 109 participants. A new exhibit, the Virtual Glider, was added to the original 55 groups of permanent interactive exhibits in the Hall of Astronomy and Hall of Space Science. Together they registered 317 749 visitors in the year.
The museum's Space Theatre presented three Omnimax shows, Mystery of the Maya, Whales and Cosmic Voyage; four sky shows, Cosmos in the Wheelchair Hawking's Black Holes and Time, Comets of the Century, Dragon in the Sky and Mars: The Quest for Life; and three school shows, The Friendly Sky, The New Solar System and Sun, Moon and Stars. They attracted more than 392 447 people.
Hong Kong Museum of History
From July 29 to October 26, the museum staged a major exhibition entitled History through Maps: An Exhibition of Old Maps of China, the largest show of its kind ever held in Hong Kong. It was jointly presented with the National Library of China and supplemented with loan exhibits from local collectors. In all, 68 784 people visited the exhibition.
The permanent exhibition entitled The Story of Hong Kong, which outlines 6 000 years of development of Hong Kong from the New Stone Age to modern times, attracted 270 000 visitors.
The museum organised a wide variety of educational activities such as video shows, lectures, workshops, field visits to local historic and nature sites, as well as