ENG-2001 — Page 485

RECREATION, SPORT AND THE ARTS

2001 and is a popular new venue. Besides the Museum of Coastal Defence, the Museum of History manages two other branch museums — the Lei Cheng Uk Han Tomb Museum in Sham Shui Po and the Law Uk Folk Museum in Chai Wan. They had more than 77 560 visitors. Altogether, the four history museums organised 19 exhibitions and conducted 4 280 educational and extension activities during the year.

Hong Kong Heritage Museum

The Heritage Museum is the largest in Hong Kong with a total floor area of 32 000 square metres. It opened to the public in December 2000 and attracted 958 815 visitors in 2001. The museum houses 12 exhibition galleries, including six permanent and six thematic galleries. It features a variety of specially designed exhibitions on different aspects of local history, arts and culture. It has collected about 70 000 artefacts, which are mostly Cantonese Opera objects and New Territories relics together with a collection of local design and works of art. The museum offers a diverse range of dynamic and participatory exhibitions and programmes. During the year, it organised 13 exhibitions and staged 433 educational, extension and theatre programmes.

Sam Tung Uk Museum

This museum in Tsuen Wan was originally a Hakka walled village built in 1786. The village layout resembles a checkerboard with an entrance hall, an assembly hall and an ancestral hall along the central axis. Inside the village, which is a declared monument, traditional Hakka furniture and farming implements are on display. There were 335 705 visitors in 2001.

Hong Kong Railway Museum

The open-air Railway Museum is located in the town centre of Tai Po Market. It consists of the old Tai Po Market Railway Station building, a narrow-gauge steam locomotive and six historical coaches. The station building, in Chinese style, was built in 1913 and declared a monument in 1984. The museum attracted about 334 960 visitors during the year.

Sheung Yiu Folk Museum

This museum is housed in a fortified Hakka village built in the late 19th century at a scenic spot near Pak Tam Chung in Sai Kung Country Park. It comprises eight domestic units, pig pens, an open courtyard and an entrance gate-tower. The village and a nearby lime kiln were gazetted as monuments in 1981. Despite its relative remoteness, the museum attracted 66 070 visitors in 2001.

Hong Kong Science Museum

The Science Museum organised a series of programmes to celebrate its 10th anniversary in April. One programme, Ask Professor Water, a water science exhibition jointly presented with the Water Supplies Department, was mounted at the museum's lobby for two months and was then converted to a travelling exhibition for loan to schools. The 10th Anniversary Drawing Competition for Kindergartens and Primary Schools captured many artistic and imaginative contributions. Other celebratory programmes included exhibitions, science demonstrations, weekend special tours, the use of a specially designed 'science cart' and the election of 10 favourite museum exhibits with a climax in the outdoor Fun Science Carnival.

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