Korea’s First Children’s Museum to Open Next Month
(August 26, 2011)

(Yongin = Yonhap News) Kim Gwang-ho

“This is not an ordinary museum. It is a museum just for children. They can touch items and make all sorts of things.”

Gyeonggi Province has built Korea‘s first full-scale children‘s museum, the Gyeonggi Children‘s Museum. It will be managed by the Gyeonggi Cultural Foundation when it opens on the 27th of next month.

According to Gyeonggi Province and the Gyeonggi Cultural Foundation, the Gyeonggi Children‘s Museum is housed in a 4-level building with 10,619 square meter of floor space on a 29,896 square meter lot. The budget for the project was KRW 30.5 billion.

Construction began on February 26th last year. After some final interior touches, all will be set to go by the end of this month. Before the official opening the museum will go through a trial period between the 8th and 21st next month.

The children’s museum consists of storage space, an archive, a museum shop, educational space, a children’s library, an exhibit hall for toddlers, a special exhibition hall, and a regular exhibition hall.

The exhibit hall is divided into four themes: curious kids, environmental kids, healthy kids, and children of the world. Sports, scientific research, the environment, artwork made with recycled goods, and multicultural experiences will be available for children to experience.

Ample resources on science, history, culture, art, social studies, and more will be displayed.

Outdoors there will be large park with a nature experience section and a playground made of recycled materials.

Children can thoroughly explore the exhibition halls by looking, touching, and feeling their way while learning new scientific principles and distant cultures.

The entry fee for children above the age of two and adults residing in Gyeonggi Province is KRW 2,000, and KRW 4,000 for all non-residents. The museum will be open from 10:00 to 20:00.

Gyeonggi Province first set the goal of building a children’s museum in January of 2004, stating that, “We want to build a new type of museum especially for children that escapes the confines of conventional museums. Our plan is to complete this by July 2006.”

But the project was delayed by five years due to difficulty in procuring capital and collecting appropriate content.

The Gyeonggi Provincial Governmente’s, the Gyeonggi Cultural Foundation, and Yongin City plan to develop a historic tourist cluster and museum park by cooperating with the nearby Gyeonggi Provincial Museum, the Korean Folk Village, and the Nam June Paik Art Center that people from all walks of life can visit and enjoy.

kwang@yna.co.kr

http://www.yonhapnews.co.kr/bulletin/2011/08/26/0200000000AKR20110826070500061.HTML?did=1179m