Tue, Feb 28, 2017 page3

• Taipei Astronomical Museum announces renovation

  • By Tsai Ya-hua and William Hetherington / Staff reporter, with staff writer
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  With its number of visitors last year falling to a five-year low, Taipei Astronomical Museum has announced plans to invest NT$500 million (US$16.31 million) renovating its aging facilities.

  Democratic Progressive Party Taipei City Councilor Hsu Chia-pei (許家蓓) said that the venue, along with Taipei Zoo and the Taipei Children’s Amusement Park, have always been favorite destinations for families.

  However, the museum’s disappointing ticket sales last year — 250,000 fewer than in 2011 — indicated that renovations were needed, Hsu said.

  Established in 1997, the museum saw its visitors peak in 2012 with 700,000, while the following two years each saw about 650,000 visitors. The number continued to drop with the museum receiving 520,000 visitors in 2015 and less than 400,000 last year.

  The venue is of great importance, as it was the nation’s first science museum to focus on educating youngsters, Hsu said, adding that many Taipei residents remember visiting the museum in their kindergarten years.

  The museum’s large observatory dome is also a famous Taipei landmark, Hsu said.

  “It is unfortunate that the museum is only being used for kindergarten and National Taiwan Science Education Center field trips. It is a waste of its location,” she said.

  Hsu said that members of the public have told her that the museum is only worth a single visit as it never changes.

  Parents have also said that their children have fallen asleep while watching the museum’s films, Hsu said.

  The museum did not have the necessary funds for renovations, museum curator Chen An-li (陳岸立) said, adding that a three-year refurbishment project is to begin at the end of this year.

  Plans include interactive events and the addition of new astronomy-related information, Chen said.

  Some of the museum’s exhibitions have already been closed in preparation for the overhaul, and this might also have contributed to the decrease in visitors, Chen said.

  As the work progresses, the museum will reopen exhibitions, Chen said, adding that it would still be able to fulfill its educational function throughout the process.

  The museum is considering exhibits that use virtual reality and augmented reality technology to appeal to a modern audience, Hsu said.

  Such technology is already used at other museums in Taiwan, such as New Taipei City’s Shihsanhang Museum of Archeology.

  Other nations put great emphasis on teaching children astronomy and use a variety of methods to do so, Academia Sinica Institute of Astronomy and Astrophysics researcher Yan Chi-hung (顏吉鴻) said.

  In Taiwan there are only two public facilities that fulfill this function, the Taipei museum and the Tainan Astronomical Education Area, Yan said.

  Chen’s position is similar to that of an elementary-school principal whereas the curator of Tainan’s facility is more akin to a university professor, so the southern venue has more access to resources, Yan said, citing the Tainan museum’s larger budget and greater staff numbers.

  It is impossible for an astronomy museum to compete with the variety of aural and visual stimuli that surrounds young people today, Yan said.

  “Most importantly, lateral connections are lacking,” Yan said, citing other nations’ promotion of astronomical facilities in tourism material.

  Taipei’s astronomy museum is unable to compete with the much more popular National Taiwan Science Education Center, Yan said

  Professional astronomy photographer Jackson said he has seen many telescopes in elementary and junior high schools get damaged because people do not know how to use them or store them properly.

  Astronomy museums should act as intermediaries and seek to make children interested in going outside to look at the stars, Jackson said.
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