To be honest, I wasn't entirely sure what was going to be in the exhibit. I just looked at the flier from school and thought, "educational, good value, something to do". Upon entering the exhibit on the 7th floor of the Science Education Center, I found out I was at this exhibit:
Broken into five sections, the exhibit area is beautifully set-up. With plenty of bilingual signage and descriptions, the kids and I could get a lot of out of the materials. The young guide was really helpful and spoke enough English for my son to understand what she was trying to explain to him.The first ruler to unite all of China was born in an unremarkable horse-breeding tribe of the far west. The rise of Emperor Qin Shihuang was a perpetual marvel.The reemergence of his underground kingdom and terracotta army after the deep sleep over 2,000 years under layers of dust has astounded the whole world. In the Secrets of Emperor Qin Shihuang’s Mausoleum and the Terracotta Warriors and Horses exhibition, visitors will explore the mystery of this long hidden palace through digital reinterpretation and re-creation and witness the former glory of the Qin’s empire.Emperor Qin Shihuang was the first Chinese emperor to unify China. He created the first centralized empire in Chinese history, established the earliest extent of what is Chinese territory today, and was the first ruler in Chinese history to declare himself “Emperor”. Being a controversial figure, he had many brilliant accomplishments but many of his deeds are also greatly criticized by later generations. Emperor Qin and his terracotta army created the legend behind the eternal emperor.
The favorite with all all the children going through the exhibit was "Ask Qin Shihuang". A giant hologram stands upon a stage. Children ask him questions (in Chinese), and he answers them! The looks on kids' faces was delightful. As were some of the questions...
We spent about 40 minutes in this exhibit area, and then another two hours in the other parts of the museum.
From the official site:
Special Exhibit
Admissions and Hours
Open: June 30th 2012 (Sat.)~October 7th 2012 (Sun.)
Opening hours: AM9:00~PM6:00
(Normal weekdays during non-summer vacations, open until PM5:00)
Sounds fantastic, and fun perhaps even for grown ups.
ReplyDeleteIt is good for grown-ups, indeed. The museum has several exhibits that adults will enjoy as much as or even more than kids, at the moment. Another one is a history of calligraphy exhibit. I think that was beyond my kids' understanding, so we gave it a miss, but I saw many college-age people going in.
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