Shanghai Science and Technology Museum in China
Generally, the Shanghai Science and Technology Museum sounds boring and monotonous to people of all ages. When I was supposed to visit the Science and Technology Museum, I was not happy to see a museum because I had the same feeling. But when I visited the museum, I was astonished by what I thought and what it is.
Shanghai Science & Technology Museum is one of the most attractive and largest museums that combines natural and technological sciences with lots of little experiments for toddlers as well as adults. Mainly, this busy museum serves the purposes of education, science, research, technology, communication, collection, and production. Exhibition halls showcasing various scientific fields, featuring impressive experimental setups and captivating demonstrations.
The area of The Shanghai Science & Technology Museum
You will be pretty surprised to know that the ground area of the Shanghai Science and Technology Museum spans 6.8 hectares (17 acres), with a footprint of 106,000 square meters and a total floor space of 98,000 square meters (1,050,000 sq ft).
Of this, 65,500 square meters (705,000 sq ft) are allocated to exhibition space showing the inventions and creations of ancient China and the spirit of exploration of scientists. It features twelve permanent exhibition areas including crust exploration, biological phenomena, light of wisdom, children’s science and technology park, audio-visual park, designer cradle, earth home, information age, robot world, light of exploration, people and health and space and space.
In addition, there is a spider exhibition, which shows the peculiar lifestyle of spider with 4 high-tech special theaters and 3 art galleries showcasing the works and footprints of ancient and modern Chinese and foreign scientists. All of the exhibition areas together vividly illustrate the timeless theme of “nature, people, and technology” for visitors from around the world.
The shanghai technology museum was also known as a postdoctoral research center, in 2016. Shanghai Science & Technology Museum was selected as the 7th among the 20 most popular national museums in the world by the Themed Entertainment Association and AECOM.
“Nature, Human, and Technology” is the main focused theme of the Shanghai Science & Technology Museum. It aims to promote the scientific and cultural quality of the citizens of Shanghai. It helps to provide visitors the opportunities to get science, technological knowledge, and spirits. The last time I visited the Shanghai Technology Museum, I saw people of all ages, but most of them were school-going kids.
Shanghai Science and Technology Museum map and floor introduction (Basement 1 Exhibition Area)
Visitors taking Metro Line 2 get off at the Shanghai Science and Technology Museum Station, walk through the sunken plaza, and go directly to Gate 6. After buying a ticket at the ticket office at the gate, they can enter the underground floor of the Shanghai Science and Technology Museum. This floor mainly has two IMAX science theaters, the Zhangjiang Innovation Achievements Exhibition, and a fast-food restaurant.
Exhibition Area on the First Floor of the Shanghai Technology Museum
On the ground floor of Shanghai Technology Museum, there are the main exhibition halls of the first phase of our museum, including the “Biological World” exhibition area, which shows biodiversity. The “Animal World Special Exhibition” shows the original ecology of wild animals from five continents. The “Exploring the Earth’s Crust” exhibition area for experiencing various geological changes and the “Light of Wisdom” exhibition area showing the basic principles and typical phenomena of multiple disciplines.
The “Rainbow Children’s Park” exhibition area for children to experience the fun of science, the “Designer Cradle” exhibition area emphasizing that “good ideas” are the source of creativity, and the Disney concept 4D cinema. In addition, there are service facilities such as the APEC main venue, leisure hall, coffee and leisure bar, etc.
1. Biological Vientiane of shanghai science & technology museum
The landscape of the Biological Vientiane exhibition area of Shanghai Technology Museum imitates the natural scenery of Yunnan, China and introduces people to the diversity of organisms. Here you can fully appreciate the rich and colorful life phenomena and the interdependence between species and ecology, and realize the importance of protecting the natural environment.
Biodiversity mainly includes three levels: genetic diversity, species diversity and ecological diversity. The exhibition area is divided into two parts: tropical rain forest area and stone forest area, with a display area of 3,000 square meters. The layered tropical rain forest plants in the rain forest area show the diversity of species, the bat cave, amphibian and reptile corner, microcosm, insect garden, bird kingdom in the stone forest area reflect the diversity of ecology, and the “forest observation station” reveals the diversity of genes, reflecting the cutting-edge achievements of genetic technology.
2. Exploring the Earth's Crust
The exhibition area of exploring the earth’s crust uses a combination of simulated scenes, interactive exhibits/exhibits, specimens, films and multimedia to show that our earth is a “dynamic structure” that is in motion all the time and has its own laws of development and evolution. The exhibition area mainly introduces the position and movement of the earth in the universe, the material composition of the earth, the structural form of the earth, the surface morphological characteristics of the earth and the natural geography of Shanghai.
With the main theme of “Looking at the Earth from Space → Exploring the Mysteries of the Earth’s Crust → Returning to the Surface to See Shanghai, the Pearl of the Earth”, it covers the Earth’s cosmic position, material composition, geological structure and other contents, and combines Shanghai’s local sedimentary environment, bedrock distribution and other geological characteristics for popular science.
Journey into the Mysteries of the Earth’s Crust: By simulating earthquakes, volcanic eruptions and other scenes, the internal structure of the Earth and the principles of plate movement are revealed.
Maglev Earth Hall: It houses the world’s largest magnetic levitation globe (2 meters in diameter), which simulates the rotation of the earth and intuitively displays the shape and movement of the earth.
Shanghai Physical Geography: Introduces Shanghai’s topography and landforms (such as the alluvial plain of the Yangtze River Delta and the bedrock residual hills of Sheshan) and the changes in the sedimentary environment since the Quaternary period.
Geological relevance
The content of the exhibition area is closely integrated with the actual geological survey results of Shanghai, for example:
The bedrock layer in Shanghai is buried 250-480 meters underground. The fault structures are mostly northeast and northwest, but there are no active faults.
Shanghai’s groundwater is stored in the pores of Quaternary loose rocks, and the water level has been rising in recent years.
3. The Light of Wisdom area of shanghai science & technology museum
The Light of Wisdom exhibition area uses a large number of interactive exhibits as the main means of display, demonstrating typical phenomena in physics, mathematics, chemistry, biology and other disciplines, revealing their basic laws and principles, cultivating visitors’ hands-on ability, and understanding scientific methods and scientific ideas, as well as scientists’ tireless spirit of exploration.
The layout of the entire exhibition area is based on the idea of “observing natural phenomena → sorting out and analyzing typical phenomena → understanding natural laws”, and is divided into a preface hall, a central activity area and an interactive exhibit area, with a display area of about 1,800 square meters (including the mezzanine).
4. Designers’ cradle
The theme of the Designer’s Cradle is computer-aided design (CAD) and computer-aided manufacturing (CAM), with an exhibition area of 800 square meters. Here, visitors can personally participate in some simple design and manufacturing activities and experience some basic technologies of modern design and advanced manufacturing, including (CAD/CAM), laser burning technology, rapid prototyping technology, etc.
The Designer’s Cradle exhibition area is to allow visitors to experience that there is design everywhere in life through their own personal participation, and everyone can become a designer. The exhibition area is set up with a design and manufacturing area, a visitor design area, and a design masterpiece area, mainly including gift engraving stations, 3D head portrait scanning and production, flexible assembly lines, business card and greeting card production stations, MTV production stations, CAD classrooms, design galleries, and other exhibits.
5. Rainbow Children's Park area of shanghai science & technology museum
The Rainbow Children’s Park not only has a fairy-tale-like wonderland and the mysteries of nature, but also the wonders of science and the colorful arts! The beautiful Rainbow Road will lead the children to enjoy a happy science journey in the science laboratory, dream forest, soft grass, zoo, light and shadow city, wonderful theater, and Rainbow House.
6. Animal World Exhibition area of shanghai science & technology museum
The “World Animals” exhibition, donated by the World Wheelchair Foundation and hosted by the Shanghai Science Education Development Foundation and the Shanghai Science and Technology Museum, has been carefully created over three years. It showcases 110 species and 186 exquisite rare wild animal specimens from five continents, with a total value of more than 15 million US dollars and an exhibition area of 2,000 square meters.
The magnificent exhibition hall integrates the unique geographical environment of Africa, North and South America, Australia and Eurasia, as well as wild and endangered wild animals. The deep and mysterious natural jungle and rare animal specimens form an “animal world” that transcends time and space. Here, you will truly feel the magic of nature, the beauty of the animal world, and the harmony between man and nature!
7. Ancient Science and Technology Gallery of shanghai science & technology museum
The “Ancient Chinese Science and Technology Gallery” is located on the wall of the public space on the first floor of the Science and Technology Museum. It reproduces the history of ancient Chinese science and technology in the form of artistic relief and with rich pictures and texts. The gallery includes five parts: astronomy, papermaking, printing, gunpowder and the invention of the compass, which embodies the great contributions of ancient Chinese scientists to human civilization.
The Shanghai Science and Technology Museum is an important popular science education base and leisure tourism base in Shanghai. The Shanghai Science and Technology Museum project covers an area of more than 68,000 square meters and a total construction area of 98,000 square meters. The exhibition content consists of five main exhibition halls and temporary exhibition halls, including the Heaven and Earth Hall, Life Hall, Wisdom Hall, Creation Hall, and Future Hall. The total investment is 1.755 billion yuan. As the most important popular science education base and an important spiritual civilization construction base in Shanghai, every visitor can receive education in modern scientific and technological knowledge and be influenced by the scientific spirit in a pleasing activity.
The Magical, Fantastic and Wonderful Robot Exhibition Hall of Shanghai Science and Technology Museum
Traditional robotics based on simple automatic machinery has begun to transform into modern robotics based on information technology. The application scope of robots has penetrated into all areas of human activities.
So, what is a robot? How does robotics technology enable robots to undertake some complex tasks? What is the intelligent nature of robots? How does robotics technology apply to our study, life, work, and research? The Robot World exhibition area of the Shanghai Science and Technology Museum allows visitors to find answers to these questions in various robot-related activities, and understand that robotics technology is a comprehensive technology that combines multidisciplinary technologies. Inside, you can watch robots do exercises, compete in archery with robots, watch robots dance, and even let robots draw your portrait, so that you can strongly feel the wonderful fun that robots bring to you.
Do you know the definition and meaning of robot?
What is a robot? How does robotics enable robots to undertake complex tasks? What is the intelligent nature of robots? How are robotics technologies applied in our study, life, work, and research? The purpose of planning and designing the Robot World exhibition area at the Shanghai Science and Technology Museum is to allow visitors to find answers to these questions in various robot-related activities and understand that robotics is a comprehensive technology that combines multidisciplinary technologies. Traditional robotics technology based on simple automatic machinery has begun to transform into modern robotics technology based on information technology. The scope of application of robots has penetrated into all areas of human activities.
Since the birth of robots, the debate about robots has continued. This debate has even evolved into uncertainty about the definition of robots. In the science and technology community, scientists will give a clear definition to each scientific and technological term. Robots have been around for decades, but there is still no consensus on the definition of robots. One of the reasons is that robots are still developing, and new models and new functions are constantly emerging.
The fundamental reason is that robots involve the concept of humans, which has become a difficult philosophical question to answer. Just like the word robot was first born in science fiction, people are full of fantasies about robots. Perhaps it is precisely because of the vague definition of robots that people have ample room for imagination and creativity.
In 1987, the International Organization for Standardization defined industrial robots as “an industrial robot is a programmable operating machine with automatic control of operation and movement functions, which can complete various tasks.” Chinese scientists define robots as “a robot is an automated machine, the difference is that this machine has some intelligent capabilities similar to humans or creatures, such as perception, planning, movement and coordination capabilities, and is a highly flexible automated machine.”
Similarly, due to the vague definition of robots, it is difficult for people to grasp the theme of the Robot World exhibition area. How to interpret the popular science theme of robots? In response to this problem, finding the best display point has become the key to the success of the Robot World exhibition area; fortunately, the organizers of the Shanghai Science and Technology Museum finally found the most ideal display method, that is, to plan and design the exhibits of this exhibition area by distinguishing the types of robots.
- Trace the development history of robot technology and understand the technological development process of robots from the “wooden ox and flowing horse”, a means of transportation invented by Zhuge Liang during the Three Kingdoms period in ancient China, to the “ASIMO” humanoid robot, the latest invention and manufacturing of Japan.
- A robot controlled by a fixed program. A type of robot classified by the way the robot is controlled.
[Work break exercises] Robots that are good at assembly line work are not born to work hard. Whenever they have a chance to rest, they can’t help but “turn their necks and wiggle their buttocks”.
Robot Theater: [Song and Dance Show] “Boom, boom, boom…” The drum beats are crisp. Under the spotlight, although the actors are robots made of steel frames, they can turn around, bend their waists, and swing their swords. Each move is well-organized and combines both hardness and softness.
Robot troubleshooting
[Fire scene hero] Oops, there’s a fire. Fortunately, the tank robot arrived in time! It turns out that it can accurately determine the location of the fire, accurately calculate the shortest distance, arrive in the shortest time, and spray water at the fastest speed.
How does the airport service robot work? It is a yellow and orange robot that can “understand” words and “recognize” the package you want. You just need to tell it the color of the package into the microphone, and it will find it. Amazing, right? In fact, this is because it has voice recognition and image recognition functions.
Robot Pianist in Shanghai Technology Museum
This “pianist” has slender hands and long fingers. He strokes the keys like flowing water, leaving a room full of weeping music. Looking back at the “pianist” himself, his clear blue eyes convey his understanding of music, and his body moves up and down with the rhythm of the music, full of charm.
There are 12 exhibition areas in the Shanghai Science and Technology Museum. Among them, the one that leaves the most profound impression on visitors is the “Robot World”. It is located on the second floor and is an exhibition area with relatively high technological content.
There is a kind of extremely smart “new new human” – their hair color cannot be seen, their skin is all steel, some have no nose or eyes, but everyone praises them as “good-looking”, and their name is “robot”. The “Robot World” exhibition area of the second phase of the Shanghai Science and Technology Museum, which is about to open, is the happy home of these “new new Shanghainese”.
Here, playing chess and archery are ancient and quaint; there, playing the piano and doing aerobics are fashionable and modern. In the industrialized production workshop, the “rumbling” roar of machinery is no longer a “one-man show”, because the robots’ “work break exercises” are top-notch. In the theater full of artistic atmosphere, 8 versatile robots performed together, which was both uniform and varied, and it was easy for them.
There are all kinds of highly intelligent robots in the “Robot World”, some of which can play the piano, some can dance, some can draw pictures, some can shoot arrows, and some can play Gobang. In addition, there are airport service robots, emergency robots, etc. These robots have a set of intelligent systems that can transmit signals to the computer brain for analysis, or work according to pre-set programs.
For example, let’s talk about the emergency robot. It is small, less than half the size of a car, but it can promptly locate the fire, calculate the best route, automatically extinguish the fire, and complete the rescue mission. And how does the airport service robot work? It is a yellow and orange robot that can “understand” words and “recognize” the package you want. You just need to tell it the color of the package into the microphone, and it can find the package. Amazing, right? In fact, this is because it has voice recognition and image recognition functions.
Robots are also famous for their warm hearts. They serve you at the busy airport luggage conveyor belts and they are also brave at dangerous fire scenes.
In fact, warmth and intelligence are not exclusive to humans. Machines also have true temperaments. You may as well follow the blogger’s lens to explore the “robot world” and experience the “art of living” in the robot world.
After entering the 21st century, as traditional robot technology based on simple automatic machinery began to transform into modern robot technology based on information technology. Humans have been in a world full of machines, and robots have gradually become a part of our lives.
Opening hours of the Shanghai Science and Technology Museum
Open from 09:00 to 17:00 from Tuesday to Sunday throughout the year; closed all day on Monday throughout the year. Open from 08:30 to 17:30 on New Year’s Day, Spring Festival, Qingming Festival, Labor Day, Dragon Boat Festival, Mid-Autumn Festival, and National Day.
Shanghai Science and Technology Museum Tickets Info
If you want to visit a renowned tourist place and you have the ticket information. You can collect the tickets easily with your preferences. Shanghai Science and Technology Museum Tickets Information is given below.
Adult ticket: 45 yuan/person
Student ticket: 22 yuan/person
PS: Children over 1.3 meters, minors aged 6 to 18, full-time university undergraduates and below (admission with student ID)
Senior citizen ticket: 37 yuan/person
PS: Seniors aged 60-69 (admission with valid ID)
Student membership card: 100 yuan/year
PS: Children over 1.3 meters, minors aged 6 to 18, full-time university undergraduates and below (admission with student ID)
Adult membership card: 260 yuan/year
PS: Adults over 18 years old
Family membership: 450 yuan/year
PS: Includes 2 adults + 1 student
Kind tips of Shanghai Science and Technology Museum
Children under 1.3 meters and children aged 6 and below are free of charge. They must be accompanied by an adult. One adult is limited to two children.
Elderly persons aged 70 and above, retired cadres, active military personnel, national comprehensive fire rescue personnel, disabled persons, and families of martyrs are free of charge and can enter with relevant valid certificates.
Ticketing time: 8:55-16:30
(Closed on Mondays, open on Mondays that fall on national holidays)
Preferential policies
Children: Children under 1.3 meters in height (must be accompanied by an adult, one adult can only bring 2 children), free of charge.
Elderly: Elderly people over 70 years old can enter for free with their senior citizen card or ID card; Age: 60 years old (inclusive) to 69 years old (inclusive) (purchase tickets with a valid ID), discounted tickets.
Others: Elderly persons aged 70 and above, retired cadres, active military personnel, national comprehensive fire rescue personnel, disabled persons, and families of martyrs can enter free of charge with relevant valid certificates.
Students: Children over 1.3 meters tall, minors aged 6 to 18, full-time undergraduate students and below (admission with student ID card), discounted tickets.
New groups of people who are exempt from tickets: dependents of military personnel who died in the line of duty or due to illness; active, retired, disabled fire rescue personnel (including government full-time firefighters) and students of fire rescue schools. They must present valid ID cards for ticket verification and entry is free of charge.
New preferential groups: Family members of active-duty military personnel (including spouses, minor children, adult children who cannot live independently, and parents (dependents) of active-duty military personnel) are given ticket discounts. They must bring relevant identity documents for ticket inspection and admission. Discounted tickets
Additional note: There are no free tickets or discounts for the dome movies and 3D movies in the Shanghai Science and Technology Museum. Infants and young children are not allowed to watch the movies. Children and the elderly are charged the same price as adults.
Official Phone Number:
Ticketing Inquiry: 021-686220006888
(Closed on Mondays, open on Mondays that fall on national holidays)
Parking lot: Shanghai Science and Technology Museum Parking Lot:
Reference price: Parking less than 0.5 hours: free; 0.5 hours to 1.5 hours: 5 yuan; 1.5 hours to 4 hours: 10 yuan; 4 hours to 8 hours are charged at 5 yuan/hour, with a maximum of 20 yuan, and no repeated charges within 24 hours; Address: 2000 Century Avenue; Parking space: 500; To avoid long waiting times, it is recommended to take the subway
Mobile phone charging: Free mobile phone charging
Luggage storage: Address: Tourist Service Center; Address: Tourist Service Center; Please read the instructions on the luggage locker carefully and take away your luggage before 17:00
Scenic spot explanation: As a national 5A-level tourist attraction, Shanghai Science and Technology Museum provides visitors with a full-time guided tour service, introducing the exhibition concept of Shanghai Science and Technology Museum, the basic information of the exhibition hall and exhibits. This service is a paid item and provides a 1.5-hour to 2-hour guided tour service. Service time: 9:00-15:30 Audience restrictions: The team must have a leader, and children must be accompanied by their parents
Audio guide rental: Reference price: 20-yuan rental, 200-yuan deposit; Address: Visitor Service Center at Gate 2; Shanghai Science and Technology Museum currently provides self-service audio guide services in Chinese, English and French to domestic and foreign visitors
Stroller rental: Reference price: Free, an ID card and a deposit of 100 yuan are required; Address: Visitor Center
Wheelchair rental: Reference price: Free
Restrooms: There are restrooms on every floor of the Shanghai Science and Technology Museum, which is very convenient. If you have any questions, please feel free to ask the staff for help. What if you bring family members of different genders to the museum and your family members cannot take care of themselves? Don’t worry, the Shanghai Science and Technology Museum authority provides you with a “third restroom” to solve the problem of inconvenience for some special groups of people to go to the toilet (daughters help old fathers, sons help old mothers, mothers help little boys, fathers help little girls etc.)
Baby room: Address: Next to the Earth’s Crust Exploration Exhibition Area on the first floor, opposite the visitor restaurant on the first basement floor
Disabled access: Wheelchair rental services are available at each visitor service center. There are also special barrier-free passages in the museum, and the toilets are equipped with barrier-free facilities for tourists in need.
ATM: Located at the entrance of Shanghai Pudong Development Bank near Gate 6 on the first floor of the basement. If you have an account at the Shanghai Pudong Development Bank, you can try!
Catering:
First floor: The tea restaurant has a comfortable environment and mainly serves Western-style light meals. It advocates the concepts of health, speed, safety and deliciousness, and provides Western-style meals, various coffees, exquisite iced drinks and other fast-food services. The food is diverse, colorful and delicious. The visitor restaurant on the first floor of the Shanghai Science and Technology Museum has a beautiful environment and considerate service. It provides tourists with a variety of Chinese fast food and exquisite Western-style light meals to meet the needs of tourists at different levels. There is also a dessert station in the restaurant, which provides a variety of exquisite desserts and iced drinks, allowing tourists to dine easily after playing.
Souvenir shop: The Bio-Vanxiang souvenir shop on the second floor of the Shanghai Science and Technology Museum actively promotes the concept of DIY culture and maker education, mainly selling products such as intelligent robots, educational assembly toys, experimental kits, etc., while also selling star cultural and creative products of the Science and Technology Museum and the Museum of Natural History.
Finally, here are some travel tips. The Science and Technology Museum has Wi-Fi coverage, and generally no registration or payment is required in advance. There are several bank’s booths nearby for easy withdrawals. It is recommended to use Baidu Maps for navigation, iFlytek Translate for language translation and the Shanghai Science and Technology Museum official APP to obtain exhibition information and explanations.
In case of emergencies such as weather changes or temporary closure of the Shanghai Science and Technology Museum, you can go to Century Park, which is 200 meters southwest of the Shanghai Technology Museum. If you want to learn more about the exhibits and history and culture of the Science and Technology Museum, you can also hire a professional tour guide for explanations.
As for shopping, there is a souvenir shop in the Shanghai Science and Technology Museum, which mainly sells various ornaments, models and popular science books. These souvenirs are not only commemorative, but also allow you to continue learning and understanding scientific knowledge after the visit. When choosing souvenirs, you can consider buying some products with the characteristics of the Shanghai Technology Museum, such as robot models, space-themed ornaments, etc. When shopping, you should compare the prices and quality of several stores and pay attention to distinguishing the authenticity of the goods.