Hong Kong Space Museum

The Hong Kong Space Museum (Chinese: 香港太空館), a museum of astronomy and space science managed by the Leisure and Cultural Services Department of the Hong Kong Government, is one of the most famous and outstanding landmarks in Hong Kong. Conveniently located on the Tsim Sha Tsui waterfront (next to Hong Kong Museum of Arts and HK Cultural Centre), Mr. Joseph Ming Gun Lee of the Public Works Department was the chief architect of the project.  Construction started in 1977 and the museum opened on October 8, 1980.

The planetarium and other equipment, worth HK$3,050,000, were purchased from the Carl Zeiss Company. With the aid of interesting hands-on exhibits and advanced equipment such as seats installed with multi-language and interactive systems, coupled with lighting effects and environmental decorations, the exhibition introduces astronomy and space science in a vivid approach.

The planetarium’s dome

The museum, occupying an area of 8,000 sq. m., has two wings.  The East Wing consists of the core of the museum’s popular planetarium, the first local planetarium for the popularization of astronomy and space science education and the first planetarium in the world to possess a fully automatic control system at its Stanley Ho Space Theatre (boasts the first OMNIMAX film projector in the eastern hemisphere) beneath it.

The planetarium’s rather unusual, easily recognizable and striking egg-shaped hemispherical projection dome, a famous landmark on the Tsim Sha Tsui waterfront, has a diameter of 23 m.. Also beneath the planetarium is the Hall of the Cosmos, the Hall of Space Exploration, workshops and offices.

Hall of the Cosmos

There is also a mockup of the nose and cockpit section of the Space Shuttle orbiter.  The West Wing houses the Hall of Astronomy, a thematic exhibition hall on the first floor; the Lecture Hall; a gift shop and offices.

Hall of Space Exploration

The “Hall of the Cosmos” (showcases the Universe from near to far, travelling from the solar system that we are living in, to the stars, Milky Way and galaxies further away and exploring the science and evolution of the universe all along the way), on the ground floor, and “Hall of Space Exploration” (depicts the development of space exploration and space technology), on the first floor, covering a total area of 1,600 sq. m. (17,200 sq. ft.), houses a hundred exhibits, about 70% of which are interactive, enabling visitors to learn through a series of entertaining and educational experiences.

Stanley Ho Space Theatre

The museum houses a large collection of meteorites and offers an extensive range of activities for both adults and children, producing 2 planetarium shows as well as introducing some of the best foreign OMNIMAX and 3D Dome Shows productions, using the digital planetarium projection system, in Hong Kong.

The museum also organizes plenty of extension activities each year including Astronomy Carnival, Astronomy Happy Hours, fun science lab sessions, astronomy competitions, lectures and astronomy film shows, etc.

Hong Kong Space Museum: 10 Salisbury Rd., Tsim Sha Tsui, Hong Kong.  Tel:+852 2721 0226. Website: hk.space.museum. Open Mondays –Fridays, 1 – 9 PM; Saturdays, Sundays and Public Holidays, 10 AM – 9 PM; closed on Tuesdays, the first two days of the Chinese New Year and at 5 PM on Christmas Eve and Chinese New Year’s Eve.
Admission: HK$10 (standard). Concession (HK$5) is applicable to full-time students, people with disability (and one accompanying minder) and senior citizens aged 60 or above. Children under 3 years old will not be admitted. Free admission on Wednesdays (visitors are required to queue on site for admission by session). Full-time students and museum pass holders are eligible for free admission to the exhibition halls and need not purchase tickets, but are required to book the admission session online before the visit (except Wednesdays). Booking will be available within one week of the visit.

How to Get There: Take the MTR to get to Tsim Sha Tsui Station. Get out of the station through Exit E and cross the road. Walk 150 m. to Salisbury Road. You’ll see the museum across the road. Then use subway to cross Salisbury Road. When you exit the subway, walk a little along Salisbury Garden. You can also take MTR East Tsim Sha Tsui Station.  Get out through Exit J, then walk about 10 mins. to the museum. Via Star Ferry Pier, from Central or Wan Chai to Tsim Sha Tsui, walk for approximately 10 mins. to the museum.