The Gwacheon National Science Museum (Director Lee Choong-won) will hold hands-on programs, performances and pop-up events that fuse traditional games with science across the museum grounds for three days — Sept. 24, 26 and 27 — to mark the Chuseok (Korean Thanksgiving) holiday. The permanent exhibition halls will open free of charge throughout the holiday.
 [코리안투데이] Highlights of the Gwacheon National Science Museum’s Chuseok K-Play Science Festival © 장형임 기자 |
The Gwacheon National Science Museum announced that it has prepared a science and culture event reinterpreting Korea’s traditional play culture through the lens of science, timed to the Chuseok holiday. The event runs for three days — Thursday, Sept. 24; Saturday, Sept. 26; and Sunday, Sept. 27 — excluding Friday the 25th, the museum’s regular closing day.
Seven programs will run in venues such as the Central Hall and the Hall of Korean Science and Civilization, under the theme ‘Questions That Built Civilization × Chuseok.’ Built around the idea that ‘Chuseok = rest and recovery,’ the event unpacks the holiday’s games and community culture through the eyes of modern science, offering visitors a chance to experience ‘rest through play.’ In the flagship program, the ‘Scientific K-Game Challenge,’ familiar traditional games such as jegichagi (shuttlecock kicking), yut nori, tuho (arrow throwing) and gonggi (jacks) are given science-based twist rules, so that families and friends can form teams and take on missions; those who succeed receive souvenirs. At the children’s workshop ‘Make it GO! Play it GO! K-Play Craft Room,’ visitors can try their hand at making spinning tops and folding sasindo (Four Guardian Deities) ttakji cards.
Each day at 2 p.m., the ‘Chuseok Heung Pungmul Nori Performance’ will be staged in the Central Hall to lift the holiday spirit. It will be followed by a mission game, ‘Finding the Vanished Five Grains and Fruits,’ held together with the mascot ‘Shuki,’ as well as a ‘Sweet Chuseok Snapshot!’ photo zone.
Separate programs have also been prepared for foreign and multicultural families. At ‘Photo Salon: The King and Queen’s Best Shot,’ visitors can don royal court attire, sit on the throne and take a commemorative photo, and those who verify their participation in the Chuseok programs can enjoy the ‘Special Invitation: Starlight Cinema at 5 p.m.’ at the planetarium.
The Creative Studio will host a toy-themed pop-up event, ‘Changsin-dong @ Chuseok Science Museum: Squishy Marketplace.’ Centered on Changsin-dong, Korea’s representative toy district, and the popular tactile toy ‘squishies,’ the event was organized in collaboration with the Dongdaemun stationery and toy market merchants’ association. It features a photo zone recreating the Changsin-dong toy street, a squishy wall, an exhibition explaining the scientific principles inside toys, a hands-on zone for making Chuseok squishies, and a pop-up store. This program requires no advance reservation, and any visitor may take part freely during the event period.
In addition, special programs will run alongside these, including the folk-game crafting activity ‘Science Museum Yut Nori’ at the Creative Workshop; the special exhibition ‘Beyond Data, the Unknown World’ and the ‘Find the Evidence of Autumn’ mission program at the Natural History Hall; and a cat-finding mission at the special exhibition hall, ‘Quantum Hide-and-Seek: Observe the Hidden Cat.’
Lee Choong-won, director of the Gwacheon National Science Museum, said, ‘We have designed this Chuseok event so that the whole family can enjoy it together, by blending our unique holiday customs and play culture with science,’ adding, ‘We hope everyone spends a meaningful and abundant holiday alongside our diverse special programs.’
To allow more members of the public to take part in the programs, the museum will open its permanent exhibition halls free of charge from Sept. 24 to 27 (closed on the 25th). Parking fees and some programs, however, are charged separately. Details on individual program schedules and how to participate are available on the Gwacheon National Science Museum website (www.sciencecenter.go.kr).
지역 홍보대사 신청 기자양성과정 신청 코리안투데이 지부장 신청 코리안투데이 인천강화코리안브랜드대상 신청 최고경영인대상 신청 소비자만족도대상 신청
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