The Ministry of Education is offering free admission to science museums nationwide for visitors under the age of 19 from next month to August, to encourage domestic tourism.
From July 1 to Aug. 31, people born after July 1, 2001, would have unlimited free admission to Taichung’s National Museum of Natural Science; Taipei’s National Taiwan Science Education Center, which is expected to reopen on July 15; Kaohsiung’s National Science And Technology Museum; Pingtung County’s National Museum of Marine Biology and Aquarium; and Keelung’s National Museum of Marine Science and Technology, the ministry said in a statement on Thursday.
Free admission to the National Museum of Natural Science includes its galleries and some special exhibits, its Space Theater, 3D theater and botanical garden, as well as the 921 Earthquake Museum of Taiwan in Taichung’s Wufeng District (霧峰), the Fonghuanggu Bird and Ecology Park and the Chelungpu Fault Preservation Park in Nantou County, it said.
Photo: Wang Chu-hsiu, Taipei Times
Under 19 visitors to the National Museum of Marine Science and Technology would have access to its main exhibits, some special exhibits, the IMAX 3D theater and the nearby Chaojing Ocean Center, it said.
Free entrance to the National Taiwan Science Education Center and the National Science and Technology Museum would include access to permanent and some special exhibits, while visitors to the National Museum of Marine Biology and Aquarium would have access to all exhibits, it said.
The ministry said it expects the program to attract 300,000 visitors and generate NT$100 million (US$3.36 million).
In related news, the ministry is to hold the inaugural Taiwan Science Festival from Oct. 31 to Nov. 15, with the theme of “The Earth, Ours to Care.”
The festival — a collaboration among the ministry, the Central Weather Bureau, local governments, universities and other groups — is to feature performances, films, a market and other events, the ministry said.
The ministry said it estimates that the festival would attract 200,000 participants and generate NT$40 million.
Meanwhile, a number of sports-related events to be held in the second half of the year are also expected to draw a combined 400,000 visitors and generate NT$800 million, the ministry said.
They include the Taiwan Sport Industry Expo, the National High School Athletic Games, the National Intercollegiate Athletic Games, the Citizens Sports Games, the National Disabled Games and a variety of events to coincide with National Mountaineering Day, it said.
Organizers of education and sports events that were postponed in the first half of the year due to the COVID-19 pandemic should resume planning, it said.
The ministry is also planning more activities to promote tourism and stimulate the economy that combine education and entertainment, it added.
Taipei and New Taipei City government officials are aiming to have the first phase of the Wanhua-Jungho-Shulin Mass Rapid Transit (MRT) line completed and opened by 2027, following the arrival of the first train set yesterday. The 22km-long Light Green Line would connect four densely populated districts in Taipei and New Taipei City: Wanhua (萬華), Jhonghe (中和), Tucheng (土城) and Shulin (樹林). The first phase of the project would connect Wanhua and Jhonghe districts, with Chiang Kai-shek Memorial Hall and Chukuang (莒光) being the terminal stations. The two municipalities jointly hosted a ceremony for the first train to be used
The Mainland Affairs Council (MAC) yesterday said it is fully aware of the situation following reports that the son of ousted Chinese politician Bo Xilai (薄熙來) has arrived in Taiwan and is to marry a Taiwanese. Local media reported that Bo Guagua (薄瓜瓜), son of the former member of the Political Bureau of the Central Committee of the Communist Party of China, is to marry the granddaughter of Luodong Poh-Ai Hospital founder Hsu Wen-cheng (許文政). The pair met when studying abroad and arranged to get married this year, with the wedding breakfast to be held at The One holiday resort in Hsinchu
Tropical Storm Usagi strengthened to a typhoon this morning and remains on track to brush past southeastern Taiwan between Friday and Sunday, the Central Weather Administration (CWA) said. The storm, which as of 8am was still 1,100km southeast of southern Taiwan, is currently expected to enter the Bashi Channel and then turn north, moving into waters southeast of Taiwan, the CWA said. Because of its rapid speed — 28kph as of 8am — a sea warning for the storm could be issued tonight, rather than tomorrow, as previously forecast, the CWA said. In terms of its impact, Usagi is to bring scattered or
An orange gas cloud that leaked from a waste management plant yesterday morning in Taoyuan’s Guanyin District (觀音) was likely caused by acidic waste, authorities said, adding that it posed no immediate harm. The leak occurred at a plant in the district’s Environmental Science and Technology Park at about 7am, the Taoyuan Fire Department said. Firefighters discovered a cloud of unidentified orange gas leaking from a waste tank when they arrived on the site, it said, adding that they put on Level A chemical protection before entering the building. After finding there was no continuous leak, the department worked with the city’s Department
RSS