Youths have a chance to learn the story of wheelchair-bound genius Stephen Hawking and, at the same time, pick up some concepts on black holes and cosmology at the Hong Kong Space Museum. The new Sky Show Cosmos in the Wheelchair - Hawking's Black Holes and Time is now on screen at the Space Theatre of the museum. Despite being unable to speak, Professor Hawking, now aged 54, is one of the most eminent British physicists of this century. At the age of 21, he suffered from a motor neurone disease and was not expected to live. Although confined to a wheelchair and able to communicate only on his computer, Professor Hawking succeeded in finishing his PhD studies, and dedicated his life to research in theoretical physics. His work and contribution is well recognised, allowing him to be appointed as the Lucasian Professor at Cambridge University, a post once held by Sir Isaac Newton. Professor Hawking has made astonishing discoveries about black holes. One of his important findings is 'black hole evaporation' - the black hole emits radiation leading us to adjust our understanding of the evolution of the universe. He has also written many popular science books. One of them, A Brief History of Time, remained on the New York Times best-sellers list for more than 53 weeks, and in Britain, on The Sunday Times list for more than 205 weeks, an accomplishment recorded in the Guinness Book of Records. While paying tribute to Professor Hawking, the film also discusses briefly the development of the Big Bang and inflationary theories, together with the physicist's theories such as small self-contained baby universes and imaginary time. The show lasts 37 minutes and narration is available in English, Cantonese, Putonghua and Japanese. There are three screenings daily at 2.30 pm, 4.30 pm and 6.30 pm, except on Tuesdays when the museum is closed, with an additional show at 12.30 pm on Sundays and public holidays. The Space Museum is situated in Tsim Sha Tsui, adjacent to the Hong Kong Cultural Centre. Admission is $28, with half-price concessions for full-time students, senior citizens and the disabled.
