6 awesome science museums

No lab coats required

Unleash your inner scientist at one of Beijing's best scientific and natural history museums, covering prehistoric times to now, with everything from the earth's smallest creatures to the universe's biggest stars on display.

Beijing Planetarium

The abundant light pollution and smog-thick air may prevent any actual stargazing in Beijing, and indeed at this planetarium, too, but there are plenty of attractions here to entice wannabe astronomers. The majority of the action is to be found in the more modern Building B, which houses interactive space-age toys to excite the imagination. Enter a large, dark dome and press buttons to see different star constellations, or poke your head inside the crust of a scaled-down version of Mars – who needs space travel? The regular 3D films showing in the Zeiss Cosmos Theatre (45RMB) are worth the trip alone – the wonders of space are projected on the ceiling of the main building’s massive dome. It’s an impressive sight for us, but for kids it’s awe-inspiring.

China Bee Museum

Tucked away in the northwest corner of the Beijing Botanical Garden is a small museum that tells you everything you need to know – and perhaps a little bit more – about honey bees. The five small rooms are full of floor-to-ceiling info boards (mostly in Mandarin) with everything from their origins, evolution and habitat to a detailed explanation of beeswax and the honey production processes. It closes for winter, so make the most of the summer months to get your buzz on.

Paleozoological Museum of China

One of the most notable paleontological museums in Asia, this place is packed to the rafters with dozens of dinosaur fossils – mostly from the Jurassic and Cretaceous periods. Some of the larger creatures’ skeletons are reproductions but many are the real deal – including several complete skeletons on the upper floors. But the partial fossils are also incredible; the delicate skeletal structure of the flying, pterodactyl-like dsungaripterus weii – only found in China – is breathtaking. 

While perhaps not as bill-topping as the fearsome fossil fest, the small anthropological exhibition in the adjacent room – featuring displays of bones (including a replica of the Peking Man’s skull), primitive tools from the Neolithic period and dioramas of cavemen doing their prehistoric thing – is also well worth a look. Incidentally, this one finds itself just down the road from the Beijing Planetarium, so once you’re done with the dinosaurs, why not head skyward to learn about the asteroids that annihilated them?

Nationa Zoological Museum of China

On the Chinese Academy of Sciences campus, the Zoological Museum houses animal specimens from all corners of the world. Spiralling up through three storeys stuffed full of taxidermied land beasts and preserved marine animals, it all revolves around the museum’s centerpiece – an enormous whale skeleton suspended from the ceiling. Some of the actual taxidermy work is better than others (the hall on domestic pets might be scary for some). Standouts, however, include the first-storey collection of birds and the whole second storey, which is dedicated entirely to bugs. Fun fact we learned: there are more than 300,000 beetle species alone.

The Wangfujing Paleolithic Museum

When high-end shopping mall Oriental Plaza was built in 1996, developers stumbled upon ancient fossils while digging the foundations. They brought in archaeologists who discovered human fossils, bone tools and other artefacts used by early man 25,000 years ago. This small, one-room museum – built on the site of the discovery – displays these ancient artefacts in a no-nonsense setting. The fossils alone are interesting, but the juxtaposition with the modern surroundings? Truly unique.

China Science and Technology Museum

Following a comprehensive redesign, China's biggest and best science and technology museum reopened in 2009, boasting five floors filled with impressive interactive exhibits. Built to resemble a wooden block puzzle, the museum shows off the scientific solutions that have shaped our world and beyond, celebrating and simplifying the discoveries of both Chinese and Western scientists for young minds. 

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