Hong Kong Space Museum

Description:

• Located in front of The Peninsula hotel on the Tsim Sha Tsui waterfront, the Space Museum is easy to spot with its white-domed planetarium. It's divided into two parts: the Exhibition Halls with their Hall of Space Science and the Hall of Astronomy, and the Stanley Ho Space Theatre. The Hall of Space Science explores the human journey into space, with exhibits on ancient astronomical history, science fiction, early rockets, manned space flights, and future space programs. Several interactive rides and exhibits (most with weight and height restrictions) include a ride on a virtual paraglider, a harness that holds occupants aloft with the same approximate gravity they'd experience walking on the moon, and a multi-axis chair developed for astronaut training that gives the sensation of tumbling through space. The Hall of Astronomy presents information on the solar system, solar science, the stars, and the universe. However, I find the museum, which opened in 1980, rather dated. Come only if you have kids and extra time on your hands, in which case you'll spend about an hour here.

  The Stanley Ho Space Theatre presents mostly OMNIMAX screenings with a projection system that produces an almost 360-degree panorama. Forty-minute to hour-long shows are presented several times daily. Only a few are narrated in English, but for the others, free headsets are available with simultaneous English translations. You can buy Space Theatre tickets in advance at the museum or at any URBTIX outlet. In addition, telephone reservations are accepted at tel. 852/2734 9009 until 1 hour before the show commences.

• © Frommer's 2012