ENG-2001 — Page 486

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RECREATION, SPORT AND THE ARTS

Whodunit?, a major thematic exhibition on forensic science, was presented from June to November. The exhibition engaged visitors in a variety of forensic science techniques in solving a crime. Set in a crime scene in a wildlife park, the exhibition highlighted the jigsaw-like process in which forensic scientists sift through evidence and build up a case. The exhibition attracted about 99 750 visitors.

In November, the museum presented Ancient Chinese Astronomy, an exhibition on loan from the Beijing Planetarium, the Beijing Ancient Observatory and the Suzhou Ancient Astronomical Chronograph Research Centre. Among the exhibits were astronomical instruments and chronographs designed or built in the Ming and Qing Dynasties, ancient star maps and meteorites discovered in the Mainland. Two of the astronomical instruments are classified as Class One National Treasures, which manifest the ingenuity of ancient scientists. Also on display in this exhibition were interactive models of selected astronomical instruments demonstrating the working and underlying principles of the instruments. The exhibition attracted 31 536 visitors. The Science Alive 2001 programme was another successful collaboration with the British Council and the Education Department. It featured a series of lectures with live demonstrations on biological science for senior form students and an interactive workshop on DNA (deoxyribonucleic acid) for teachers. The whole programme attracted 2 240 participants. A travelling exhibition on Science of Sound, created by the Science Museum in London, was also mounted. Love the Everest, Love Our Earth, a thematic exhibition for kindergartens, was staged in the lobby in December. It contained items of educational exploration and nature learning games for those in early childhood. The exhibition would later be staged at individual kindergartens in Hong Kong.

The museum also took part in various projects held with academic institutions, universities and professional bodies. These included the Popular Medical Science Lectures, Primary Science Project Competition, Egg Drop Contest 2001, Joint School Robotic Olympics 2001 and the Joint School Science Exhibition.

In 2001, the museum's exhibitions and extension activities attracted more than 851 000 visitors and participants.

Hong Kong Space Museum

The Space Museum is working with the Astronomy Workshop, an interest group, in running an Interactive Astronomical Observatory on a site provided by the Hong Kong Observatory. This project is funded by the Quality Education Fund and involves setting up a remote control telescope that can be accessed by teachers through the Internet for teaching and organising astronomical activities.

During the year, the museum launched two Sky Shows New Frontiers of Space Exploration and Ancient Chinese Astronomy. Three Omnimax films Solar Max, Journey of Man and Ocean Oasis and four school shows Sun, Moon and Stars, The New Solar System, Cosmic Voyage and The Greatest Places were also staged. These attracted more than 336 000 people.

In March, the museum installed in the Hall of Astronomy a new exhibit (3297) Hong Kong, introducing the asteroid named after Hong Kong by the Chinese Academy of Sciences. In October, a new exhibit Cosmic Ray Telescope, jointly developed with the Physics Department of the Chinese University of Hong Kong, was also installed in the Hall of Astronomy, and introduced a cosmic ray research project.