National Palace Museum

Yesterday, my two kids (6 and 8) visited the National Palace Museum.  I hadn't been there since their major renovations, and was amazed by the changes.  My children didn't LOVE the main exhibit areas, but they did still get a lot of out of it.  If I had done my research, I would have gotten them the headsets with children's introduction to the main museum.  It's designed for kids aged four to eight years.  You can download it, or borrow the headsets for TWD50.  AND, I would have downloaded the worksheets... oh, well, next time...

We decided to have lunch before entering the exhibits, and ate at the cafe at the museum's entrance.  It was pretty good.  Inexpensive food, bilingual staff and menu, healthy food options, and sturdy chairs and tables, made it a good option for us.

Enjoying a Pearl Milk Tea and Ham Sandwich.

In the calligraphy room, there is a section with lots of multimedia to keep everyone entertained and educated.  You can also use the museum's educational web pages at home.

There are several gift shops in Exhibit Hall 1.  I picked up a 10-book set of children's book for just TWD270!  They are clearing them out, and only have about 20 sets left at the time of writing.  If you live near the museum, they are definitely worth picking up for gifts. They are in Chinese with ㄅㄆㄇㄈ.  Published by the museum, they introduce some beautiful pieces from their collection.

I'd be lying to say my kids fell in love with the exhibits upstairs, but I think it's still important to let them see these things, as they learn about them in their textbooks at school.  They were very excited to hear about the children's room in B1, that's for sure.

Entry to the children's room is free, and you can enter without buying entry to the museum, so it is a great little space to visit when it's rainy or too hot out.  Everything is hands-on, and bilingual.  The video they show is only in Chinese, though.

My son was fascinated by the "Create Your Own Zoo" program.  It's like a giant i-pad.  You design your image, and then it plays in a sequence with other kids' pictures.

"Create Your Own Zoo"

There are Q&A sections, engineering activities, and jigsaw puzzles. Everything is made to encourage participation by children and their parents.

Questions about jade.

Challenge: Build the bridge.

Finish the puzzle to make the animations on the screen start.

After our time at the museum (about 2 1/2 hours), we popped to Zhishan park next door.  If you show your museum ticket, you get in free.  I don't know how much it is without the ticket, but I don't think it's much.  I remember visiting years ago, but had forgotten what a haven it is.  We fed the fish and the swans, and watched artists paint the landscape.

Definitely painting-worthy.

If you didn't buy enough at the gift shops, there is another one at the park entrance.

I parked across the road from the museum in the car park.  There is a car park behind the museum, but it's hard to find a space there.
Address:  No.221, Sec. 2, Zhishan Rd., Shilin Dist., Taipei City 11143, Taiwan (R.O.C.)
Tel:+886-2-28812021

Up-to-date visiting hours and entrance fees:  http://www.npm.gov.tw/en/visiting/visit/hours.htm

My age recommendations:  Stroller-friendly, good for little ones, or children six and up.  Toddlers will find it hard to stay patient and quiet enough for the main exhibit areas.