Museum fest

Museums are in the spotlight this month with a series of events aimed at getting more people into local museums.

First up is Museum Panorama this weekend - a two-day museum fest organised by more than 20 museums.

Through games and educational activities, it hopes to make people aware of museums and what they have to offer.

The event, the prelude to International Museum Day 2006, is organised by the Leisure and Cultural Services Department (LCSD), which was criticised by the government last month for failing to pull in enough visitors to its exhibitions to cover costs.

According to the LCSD, museums are a place of learning and enjoyment for young people.

Museum Panorama will be held at the Cultural Centre and the Museum of Art piazza, along Tsim Sha Tsui waterfront.

It will provide visitors with booth games for entertainment and a series of educational activities hosted by 25 museums in Hong Kong, Macau and Guangdong.

Other programmes, including lectures on the work and functions of museums, workshops, guided tours, demonstrations, children's programmes and video shows, will be held at the participating museums from May 15 to 28, also as part of International Museum Day.

One of the most popular museums, the Museum of History on Chatham Road South, will host a workshop on fishing junk model-making on Sunday.

Workshops on Lei Cheng Uk Han Tomb and double-decker trams will follow on May 21 and 28 respectively.

A creative painting space will be opened to the public at the Museum of Art painting studio on May 19, and a ceramics demonstration will be held on May 24.

At the Space Museum, a film, Life on Other Worlds & The Origin of the Solar System will be screened at the lecture hall at 1pm on Saturday, followed by an astronomical observation at the Cultural Centre piazza.

More observations have been scheduled for May 20 and 27.

The Hong Kong Robotic Olympiad 2006 will be held at the Science Museum in Tsim Sha Tsui East on May 20.

Since 1978, the International Council of Museums has designated May 18 as International Museum Day to raise public awareness of the role that museums play in society.

It is the sixth year the LCSD has organised the event.

Other museums participating in the International Museum Day 2006 include the Flagstaff House Museum of Tea Ware, the Maritime Museum, the Hong Kong Film Archive, the Racing Museum, the Police Museum and the Museum of Medical Sciences.

For programme details and locations, visit www.lcsd.gov.hk