Ministry of Science and ICT announces museum night

The Ministry of Science and ICT said that the National Gwacheon Science Museum will hold an after-hours event on Aug. 14.

Called "Night at the Science Museum: Midsummer Edition," the program will run from 6 p.m. to 10 p.m. Lee Chung-won, director of the National Gwacheon Science Museum, described it as "a nighttime science and culture festival designed to offer a cool way to enjoy the hot summer through science." It will be the museum's second nighttime-opening event, following one held last autumn.

Permanent exhibition halls and the Quantum Generation special exhibition will be open free of charge. Themed exhibition tours will cover subjects including the periodic table, force and motion, waves and energy, semiconductors, future agriculture and Joseon-era summer life.

Visitors can also join hands-on activities, including making Milky Way key rings, pet rocks, diffraction glasses and glow-in-the-dark mugunghwa key rings to mark Liberation Day. The program will include magic and quiz shows, as well as photo zones featuring Shuki and artificial intelligence.

Ahead of Chilseok, a special astronomy program will offer Milky Way viewing and observations of the Gyeonu and Jiknyeo stars. A planetarium program will tell the story of the stars and the Milky Way, while observatory sessions will focus on summer constellations and star clusters.

Outside, visitors can join glow-in-the-dark water-gun and straw-rocket activities, visit a moon-balloon photo zone and watch busking performances.

A paid, advance-booking program for adults at the Natural History Hall will explore disappearance in natural history through science and the humanities. The session will open with a dinosaur-themed nonalcoholic cocktail and a performance combining poetry and music, followed by a lecture by Lee and a flashlight tour through a darkened hall. It is limited to 70 participants at 15,000 won ($11) each.

Restaurants, a cafe, convenience store and train-themed rest area will extend their hours for the event. Vehicles entering after 4 p.m. will receive a 50 percent discount on parking fees.