The Shanghai Science and Technology Museum occupies a large building beside Century Park in Pudong and is aimed squarely at families and school groups - which is not a criticism. It opened in 2001, it is one of the biggest institutions of its kind in Asia, and it does the things that hands-on science museums do well: large exhibits you can walk into, live demonstrations and a great deal of noise from children enjoying themselves. Adults with an interest in how cities explain science to the public will find it interesting in its own right.
What is inside
The permanent halls cover the natural world and technology. There is a large rainforest hall with living plants, waterfalls and a walkway through the canopy; a hall of African and Asian animal dioramas, taxidermy set in painted landscapes, a style that Chinese museums do at full scale; galleries on mechanics, light, sound, electricity and mathematics with working models; sections on information technology, robots and space; and a hall on the human body and health. There is also a sphere-shaped building - a spherical theatre projecting films onto the inside of a dome - and an IMAX cinema showing science and nature films.
Practicalities of a visit
The museum is popular and busy, particularly at weekends and in school holidays, and the most crowded halls are the ones aimed at young children. Because the building is large, a visit takes three hours at minimum and can easily take a full day; the cinema and the sphere theatre are ticketed separately and need to be booked in advance, since they sell out. Signage is in Chinese and English, and most demonstrations are in Chinese but visual enough to follow without the commentary.
Practical notes
The museum is in Pudong, opposite Century Park, and is served by a metro station on the same line as the museum and shopping district, so it combines easily with the Shanghai Museum East or with Century Park itself. It closes on Mondays, which is standard for Shanghai's public museums, and entrance is by timed ticket booked in advance through its official channel. Food inside is limited and aimed at children; the shopping malls around the metro station have far better options and are a few minutes away on foot.
