Weekend Explorer: Beijing's Science Museums
Kids aren't interested in science? Take them to the city's best science museums this weekend and inspire them with the many interactive exhibits!
Beijing Planetarium (北京天文馆)
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.
Don’t miss The Space Invaders-type video game playable inside a giant model sun.
Estimated time Two hours.
English provisions Decent translations accompany most exhibits.
Opening hours 9.30am-3.30pm Wed-Fri; 9.30am-4.30pm Sat-Sun
Admission 10RMB
Address: 138 Xizhimenwai Dajie, Xicheng district 西城区西直门外大街138号
China Science & Technology Museum (中国科学技术博物馆)
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.
Among its five exhibitions are The Glory of China and the Children's Science Paradise, which is dedicated to 3-10 year olds. There’s an additional entrance fee for this (49RMB; 20RMB children) but, with many interactive opportunities (in the ‘Recycle’ section, for example, kids get hands-on experience turning waste materials in to paper) and science performances (think loud bangs, balloons and cups magically moving across tables), it’s worth the price tag.
Don’t miss Well, you simply can’t miss the giant dinosaur skeleton towering in the lobby – a Chuanjiesaurus.
Estimated time 90 minutes to two hours.
English provisions Nearly all exhibits have decent English translations.
Opening hours 9.30am-5pm Tue-Sun; open Monday in summer holidays
Admission 30RMB; free (children)
Address: 5 Beichen Dong Lu, Chaoyang district 朝阳区北辰东路5号
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.
Don’t miss The human remains.
Estimated time 20 minutes.
English provisions Limited translations.
Opening hours 10am-4.30pm daily
Admission 10RMB
Address: B3 Oriental Plaza Mall 1 Dongchang'an Jie, Dongcheng district 东城区东长安街1号东方广场第一街地下三层
National Zoological Museum of China (国家动物博物馆)
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.
Don’t miss An incredibly beautiful and comprehensive collection of butterflies.
Estimated time One-and-a-half hours.
English provisions All signage is in Chinese but an English-language audio guide is available and informative.
Opening hours 9am–4pm Tues-Sun
Admission 40RMB; 20RMB (children and students)
Address: Building 1, Chinese Academy of Sciences Olympic Campus, Beichen Xi Lu, Chaoyang district 朝阳区北辰西路1号院5号（中科院奥运园区内）
Paleozoological Museum of China (中国古动物馆)
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?
Don’t miss The complete fossils of the long- snouted herbivore sinokannemeyeria on the second floor.
Estimated time One hour.
English provisions English signage is limited.
Opening hours 9am-4.30pm Tue-Sun
Admission 20RMB
Address: 142 Xizhimenwai Dajie, Xicheng district 西直门外大街142号中国古动物馆
Beijing Museum of Natural History (北京自然博物馆)
If taxidermy isn’t for you, then the Beijing Museum of Natural History probably isn’t either. The museum’s biggest sell may be its many dinosaur fossils – from a partial fossil of a woolly mammoth to a wholly intact fossil of a long-necked, diplodocus-like paracerathrium – but the rest of the exhibitions are more mausoleum than museum. Especially ‘Amazing Africa’ on the second floor, which is essentially a stuffed safari scene with lions, zebras, giraffes and so on. That said, the small aquarium hidden in the basement is a treat, with its open pools of (living) rays and sea turtles. It’s a great museum for families and dino-heads, but general visitors won’t learn a whole lot about natural history here.
Don’t miss The ‘Animal – Friends of the Human Being’ exhibit has everything from a fearsome polar bear to delicate little butterflies.
Estimated time One to two hours.
English provisions English signage is limited.
Opening hours 8.30am-5pm Tue-Sun
Admission 10RMB
Address: 126 Tianqiao Nan Dajie, Dongcheng district 东城区天桥南大街126号
The Geological Museum of China (中国地质博物馆)
With four floors of fossilised remains, precious stones and almost no tourists, the Geological Museum is a rare gem in itself. The 'scientific earth' room is full of interactive exhibits, including the chance to build your own earthquake-resistant tower. Meanwhile, the amethyst geodes provide the ‘minerals room’ with an ethereal air. With the English-language, amateur-friendly info boards, this is one for geology enthusiasts of all levels.
Don’t miss The dinosaur fossils dating back to the Jurassic period.
Estimated time One to two hours.
English provisions Translations are good and present throughout.
Opening hours 9am-4.30pm Tue-Sun
Admission 30RMB
Address: 15 Xisiyangrou Hutong, Xicheng district 西城区西四羊肉胡同15号
Zhoukoudian Peking Man Site (周口店北京猿人遗址)
Zhoukoudian, better known as the site of Peking Man – one of the first specimens of homo erectus – is one of the most important palaeontological sites in the world, and one of Beijing's seven Unesco World Heritage sites. All of the human remains in the museum are replicas (the originals vanished in 1941) but the primitive tools and animal skeletons from the mid-to-late Pleistocene era are genuine. You can also explore the 15 excavation sites; the Peking Man cave is the deepest, darkest and most bone-chilling of them all, the exact site where man’s ancient ancestor lived some 500,000 to 700,000 years ago.
Don’t miss ‘Locality 4’, where evidence of the first-ever use of fire was found.
Estimated time Two-to-three hours.
English provisions Translations are comprehensive, and of a good standard.
Opening hours 8.30am-4.30pm daily
Admission 30RMB
Address: 1 Zhoukoudian Dajie, Fangshan district 房山区周口店大街1号周口店
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