436 Recreation, Sport and the Arts
To promote public awareness and understanding of the history and culture of Hong Kong and to strengthen close cooperation and interaction with the community, particularly the education and cultural sectors, the museum regularly organised diversified educational activities and extension programmes, including lectures, workshops and symposium. The lecture series on 100-year of Architecture in Hong Kong and Modern Chinese History presented with the Hong Kong Institute of Architects and the Modern Chinese History Society of Hong Kong respectively received overwhelming response from the public, particularly teachers and students. The museum also conducted a joint research project in collaboration with the Music Department of the University of Hong Kong on Nanyin music and produced a DVD entitled A Blind Singer's Story: Dou Wun, Fifty Years of Life and Work in Hong Kong, which was of high collection value for lovers of Nanyin music and local history.
The Hong Kong Museum of History also manages three branch museums — the Hong Kong Museum of Coastal Defence in Shau Kei Wan, the Lei Cheng Uk Han Tomb Museum in Sham Shui Po and the Law Uk Folk Museum in Chai Wan. They attracted, some 182 000, 44 000 and 37 000 visitors respectively.
Hong Kong Museum of Coastal Defence
Converted from the old Lei Yue Mun Fort in Shau Kei Wan, the Hong Kong Museum of Coastal Defence occupies about 34 000 square metres. It comprises three main areas: Reception Building, Redoubt and Historical Trail. The permanent exhibition 600 Years of Hong Kong's Coastal Defence depicts Hong Kong's history of coastal defence from the Ming and Qing dynasties, the British period, Japanese invasion to the period after Hong Kong's reunification with China. Visitors may also explore the military relics in the Redoubt and on the Historical Trail, such as the gun batteries, torpedo station, caponiers and magazines.
Four thematic exhibitions were held during the year. Moreover, the museum organised a wide variety of educational activities, such as guided tours to the galleries and the Historical Trail, lectures on specific topics, family workshops, demonstrations, drill and military music performances, and field trips to arouse public interest in the history of Hong Kong's coastal defence.
Hong Kong Heritage Museum
'Design Infinity' was the theme of the Hong Kong Heritage Museum's programmes in 2004-05. A series of exhibitions and educational activities was organised in 2004, including thematic exhibitions featuring the transformation of Hong Kong banknote design; some 500 outstanding contemporary publications from the Mainland, Hong Kong, Macao and Taiwan; about 450 excellent posters from 29 different countries or regions in the world; and a visual platform to show Hong Kong spirit by using red-white-blue fabric. Other than the exhibition series on design, six special exhibitions on various themes of heritage were also launched in 2004.
A total of 1 257 educational and extension activities such as seminars, lectures, field trips, performances, demonstrations, art camps, workshops and competitions were organised for the public. The MuseKids scheme was launched in 2003 to provide children from kindergarten level through to Primary 6 with opportunities to