A new permanent exhibition, titled “Physical World,” an interactive experience to teach physics, was opened at the National Museum of Sciences in Taichung on the weekend.
The exhibition was designed by the museum and collaborating academics, and funded by the Delta Electronics Foundation, which donated a permanent exhibition about physics to the museum in 2000 that attracted more than 10 million people to the museum in the past decade.
With about NT$30 million (US$974,152) in funding and additional display facilities from the foundation, the new exhibition features 30 items designed and manufactured in Taiwan.
During the opening ceremony on Saturday, museum director-general Sun Wei-hsin (孫維新) demonstrated physics using three wine glasses with liquid in each one at different quantities and then rubbing the rim of the glasses with a wet finger to make a sound.
He said they hope to create a learning environment where students can ask questions and discover answers through hands-on experiences. The exhibition is designed to teach people about electromagnetism, kinematics, mechanics, fluid mechanics, optics and modern physics.
Delta Electronics Inc founder Bruce Cheng (鄭崇華) said knowledge of the principles of physics is the basis for innovation and development in various scientific fields.
Visitors to the museum can see a robotic arm start 28 metronomes and after a few seconds the needles tick in unison because of sympathetic resonance; or learn about the Coriolis effect by rolling balls while sitting in a spinning chair.
Sun said the museum and the foundation have trained volunteers, including Delta Electronics employees and National Taichung First Senior High School students, to give explanations, and the exhibition space is limited to 100 visitors at a time to enhance the learning environment.
The ministry supports government agencies collaborating with the private sector and academics to educate the general public, Huang said.
Entry to exhibition is free until Dec. 30 and group visitors are advised to book in advance.
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