RECREATION, SPORT AND THE ARTS
an outstanding scientist and as a humanitarian. The exhibition consisted of rare photographs and film footage.
The Sciencetunnel Exhibition between May and August attracted 64 870 visitors. It was developed by the Max Planck Society of Germany. Featuring a 170-metre multimedia tunnel, the exhibition guided visitors through the new dimensions of modern-day research. As visitors passed through the 12 linked stations, they were able to appreciate the latest achievements and discoveries that help to explain the emergence and evolution of all kinds of things in the universe, including human life, as well as the importance of science in enhancing the well-being of humankind.
To complement the International Museum Day initiated by the International Council of Museums, the LCSD presented an International Museum Day programme in May with 'Discovering Museums' as its theme. Taking the role of event coordinator, the Science Museum worked with 20 public museums and cultural institutions to organise over 200 entertaining and educational programmes including a three-day 'Museum Panorama' held at the Hong Kong Cultural Centre Piazza which attracted about 20 000 participants. The museums, offering free admission to the public during the period, received 64 200 visitors.
The exhibition SARS and Viruses was held in the foyer of the Science Museum from June 30, and was originally intended to close in September. In view of the public response, the exhibition was extended to the end of October and attracted a total of 177 976 visitors. Entirely developed and produced in-house, the exhibition aimed at educating the public on the scientific aspects of SARS as well as of viruses in general. Among the exhibits was a 3D model of a coronavirus and an infrared forehead temperature scanner.
The Wildlife Photographer of the Year exhibition was presented between October and December and featured the winning entries in the 2001 and 2002 Wildlife Photographer of the Year competitions organised by the Natural History Museum of the United Kingdom. Combining artistic perspective, technical expertise and the natural beauty of animals across the spectrum of deserts, mountains, forests and oceans, the 200 images portrayed the harmony of nature and conveyed the message of environmental protection.
To commemorate China's first successful manned space flight in mid-October, the Exhibition on China's First Manned Space Mission was held from November 1 to November 4 in the Special Exhibition Hall. Among the exhibits was the re-entry module of the Shenzhou-5 spaceship that carried Colonel Yang Liwei into space on October 15 and the spacesuit he wore during his epic mission. The exhibition attracted more than 103 000 visitors during the continuous 76-hour exhibition period. In late December, the museum began a three-month follow-up exhibition entitled China's First Manned Space Mission Exhibition II — Gifts for Hong Kong to display the items presented by the Space Mission Delegation that visited Hong Kong, including the training suit donated by Colonel Yang and two large satellite images covering the Hong Kong SAR and the Pearl River Delta. The exhibition also featured memorabilia produced for earlier aerospace exhibitions held in the museum.
From October to December, the museum joined hands with the Hong Kong Observatory to organise a series of six lectures presented by distinguished meteorologists from the United States, the Mainland and Hong Kong. The series, introducing meteorological topics of public concern like El Nino, typhoons and climate change, attracted a total audience of 1 380 people.
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