Hong Kong Science Museum – Review guide to Hong Kong’s best museum

The family-friendly Hong Kong Science Museum is especially popular among the young and young-at-hearts. Curious minds love the interactive hands-on science and technology exhibitions. Highlights of the Science Museum are e.g. the four-storey high one-of-kind Energy Machine and the ever-changing thematic special exhibitions.

Below are all the info you need to know about the popular Science Museum, including e.g. entrance fees, ticket prices, how to get to the museum, what you can do, activities, special exhibitions, events and bookings.

What is Hong Kong Science Museum?

As the name already indicates, the Hong Kong Science Museum is primarily devoted to everything science related. On a 6,500 square meter area, the museum houses over 500 different exhibits. Over 70% of them are interactive and offer hands-on experiences. The interactive exhibits are a fun way to learn more about the underlying effects and principles of science.

In fact, the museum encourages its visitors to actively participate, explore and experience the exhibitions. Especially for kids this is a great learning and fun opportunity.

The Science Museum covers a diverse and wide range of science fields. You can learn more e.g. about physics laws and the underlying principles. But that’s not all. Other fields of science include e.g. electricity, magnetism, biodiversity, biology, evolution, environment, robotics, coding and transportation, etc.

Go Back to Top

Highlights of Hong Kong Science Museum

Besides the interactive exhibits and thematic exhibition, the museum houses some special highlights such as e.g. a real DC-3 airplane from Cathay Pacific, a computer area, a car driving simulation and a 22m high twin-tower Energy Machine. So let’s take a closer look at some.

Energy Machine

Without a doubt, the Energy Machine is one of the major highlights of the Science Museum.

This exhibit is the tallest and biggest of the museum. Spanning over 4 floors the Energy Machine is visually already impressive. In fact, the 22-metre twin-tower Energy Machine is considered the world largest device of its kind.

The idea behind the Energy Machine is to demonstrate the physic laws of energy conservation and conversion. Once set in motion you can witness how the balls convert potential energy into kinetic energy. The balls roll down different routes activating lights, sounds chimes, drums and playing the xylophone.

The Energy Machine operates at 11:15am, 1:15pm and 5:15pm. Make sure not miss this visual and sound spectacle.

DC-3 Airplane Betsy

The original DC-3 airplane is another highlight of the museum. Aviation enthusiasts and geeks should not miss that iconic airplane.

The airplane with the registration VR-HDB was the first aircraft of Cathay Pacific Airways. Nicknamed “Betsy” the DC-3 performed the first flight from Sydney to Hong Kong. After several years in service it was then sold to an Australian airline. In 1983, Cathay Pacific (CX) repurchased it and donated the airplane to Hong Kong Science Museum.

Special Exhibitions

Another highlight of the Science Museum are the Special Exhibitions. These exhibitions are just temporarily available. They focus on specific fields of science, events or explain the science behind certain phenomena. In the past you can learn and enjoy special exhibitions e.g:

• The Big Eight – Dinosaur Revelation
• Science Behind Pixar
• Robots – The 500-year quest to make machines human
• Exploring Flowers with 5 Senses
• Fighting Viruses – Innovations to safeguard our health
• Unlocking the secrets – The Science of Conversation at The Palace Museum
• Becoming Jane – Inspiring a shared planet
• Landscape map of the Silk Road Exhibition

Go Back to Top

What can you do at Hong Kong Science Museum?

The permanent and special exhibitions are not the only things you can do at the Science Museum. The museum usually organises e.g. special lectures, demonstrations and workshops. Furthermore, you can enjoy online programmes and science competitions. And besides that there are special programmes for children and elderly.

The live demonstrations and lectures are one of the highlights. If you have a chance try to attend them. Demonstrations include e.g. how static electricity works, learn about liquid nitrogen or take a closer look at dinosaur features.

Another highlight is the wide range of many workshops. Here you can learn e.g. how to code, build a cube robot, be close to jellyfish, prepare for natural disaster or learn about the rainforest. In case you would like to attend a workshop, you have to register with the museum.

Moreover, the special online programmes and lectures are one of the highlights. Here you can meet, talk and learn from leading science experts. The lectures usually take place at the lecture hall on the first floor. Most of lectures are conducted in Cantonese, Putonghua and/or English. Some of them are live streamed on the museum YouTube or FaceBook (Meta) channel.

The museum also has a very cool souvenir store. So make sure to check out the Exploration Store.

Go Back to Top

Hong Kong Science Museum admission and ticket prices

So, how much are the ticket prices, entrance fees and admission to Hong Kong Science Museum? Ticket prices and entrance fees depends which exhibitions of the museum you want to visit.

Admission fees to the Exhibitions Halls

Ticket prices for the permanent Exhibitions Halls are:

• Standard Ticket – HKD 20
• Concession Ticket – HKD 10 (Seniors and people with disabilities)

Go Back to Top

Is it worthwhile to visit the Science Museum?

The child and family-friendly Science Museum is highly recommended. The museum attracts people from all walk of life. The various interactive exhibits are a fun way to explore, experience and learn more about science. Especially kids and the young-at-heart love the museum with the hands-on approach.

Having said that, the Science Museum is a great choice not only on a rainy day.

Read More About:
What can you do on rainy days in Hong Kong

The museum is conveniently located at the Tsim Sha Tsui district. That makes it very easy to incorporate the museum in your sightseeing plan. You can easily visit the museum before or after e.g. taking one of the Victoria Harbour cruises or visiting the nearby Avenue of Stars attraction.

Go Back to Top

Hotels close to Hong Kong Science Museum – or where are the best places to stay

No matter if you are a first-time or repeating visitor to Hong Kong, it is recommended to plan your stay ahead. Choosing to either stay on the Kowloon or Hong Kong Island side is not the only thing to decide. Hotel rooms and accommodation fill up quickly and room rates skyrocket. Having said that try to book and secure your hotel room as early as possible!

Stay in Tsim Sha Tsui (close to Science Museum)

The closest location to Hong Kong Science Museum is Tsim Sha Tsui (TST). There are plenty of hotels in every price range available. Many of them are located within walking range to the museum. The area is very convenient and has several other top sightseeing attractions, restaurants and shopping options in close proximity.

Best hotel options in East Tsim Sha Tsui (steps away from the museum)

1. Hotel Icon 唯港薈
2. InterContinental Grand Stanford Hotel 海景嘉福洲際酒店
3. New World Millennium Hong Kong Hotel 千禧新世界香港酒店
4. Harbour Plaza Metropolis 都會海逸酒店
5. Kowloon Shangri-La Hotel 九龍香格里拉酒店
6. Regal Kowloon Hotel 富豪九龍酒店
7. The Royal Garden Hotel 香港帝苑酒店
8. Park Hotel Hong Kong 香港百樂酒店

Best Hotel options in Tsim Sha Tsui:

1. Regent Hong Kong (former InterContinental Hong Kong) 香港麗晶酒店 (原香港洲際酒店)
2. Sheraton Hong Kong Hotel & Towers 香港喜來登酒店
3. The Peninsula Hong Kong 香港半島酒店
4. K11 Artus (new) K11寓館
5. Rosewood Hotel (new) 香港瑰麗酒店
6. YMCA Salisbury 港青酒店
7. FWD House 1881
8. Marco Polo Hong Kong Hotel 馬哥孛羅酒店
9. Kowloon Shangri-La Hotel 九龍香格里拉酒店
10. Langham Hotel 香港朗庭酒店

Stay in Wan Chai or Central (center of the city)

In case you can’t find any hotel room around the museum or would like to experience another side of the city, you might want to check out some of the following hotels along Central and Wan Chai areas. Both districts are the most popular areas for visitors. There are plenty of hotel options and you can hop on either the iconic Star Ferry or subway to reach Tsim Sha Tsui.

Best Hotel options along Wan Chai area:

1. Grand Hyatt Hong Kong 香港君悅酒店
2. The St. Regis Hong Kong 瑞吉酒店
3. Renaissance Harbour View Hotel 香港萬麗海景酒店
4. The Fleming Hotel 芬名酒店
5. Gloucester Luk Kwok Hotel 六國酒店

Best Hotel options along Central/Admiralty area:

1. JW Marriott Hotel 香港JW萬豪酒店
2. Island Shangri-La 港島香格里拉大酒店
3. The Murray 香港美利酒店
4. Conrad Hong Kong 香港港麗酒店
5. The Upper House 奕居
6. Four Seasons Hong Kong 香港四季酒店
7. Mandarin Oriental Hong Kong 香港文華東方酒店

If you prefer to check out hotels in other locations, you can start with where are the best places to stay.

Go Back to Top

What are the Opening Hours and when is it the best time to visit Hong Kong Science Museum?

The official opening hours of Hong Kong Science Museum are:

• 10:00pm – 7:00pm (Mon – Wed, Fri)
• 10:00am – 9:00pm (Sat, Sun and public holiday)
• 10:00am – 5:00pm (Christmas Eve and Lunar New Year’s Eve)

The museum is closed on Thursdays (except public holidays) and the first 2 days of the Lunar New Year

So, when is the best time to visit? First things first. In case you plan to visit one of the special exhibitions, you should plan ahead. In the past, many of these special exhibitions have been very popular. Due to their popularity you should prepare to stand inline and that it can get crowded. Try to avoid weekends and public holidays. Therefore, the best time to visit is during the week.

Go Back to Top

Where is the location of Hong Kong Science Museum?

The Hong Kong Science Museum is conveniently located in East Tsim Sha Tsui (2 Science Museum Road).

The museum is situated just opposite the Hong Kong Museum of History. You easily can visit another museum highlight back-to-back.

Having said that Tsim Sha Tsui (TST) is one of the major sightseeing and tourist hotspots. The excellent location of the Science Museum makes it very easy to visit other top sightseeing attractions. Within walking distant you have plenty of choices. The Tsim Sha Tsui waterfront promenade is not too far away.

Popular attractions such as e.g. Avenue of Stars, the nightly Symphony of Light and Laser Show, the iconic Star Ferry, the Clock Tower, the Hong Kong Space Museum, Hong Kong Museum of Art or the Hong Kong Cultural Centre can be found here. It is also the spot where the popular Victoria Harbour cruises start. Plus here you can enjoy stunning and spectacular views of Hong Kong’s magnificent skyline.

Read More About:
Best harbour tours and boat trips in Hong Kong – from traditional junk to luxury yacht

Go Back to Top

How to get to Hong Kong Science Museum?

The most convenient way to get to Hong Kong Science Museum is to take Hong Kong’s MTR subway. Take the subway to the East Tsim Sha Tsui MTR Station and take Exit P2 (this subway exit is closest to the museum). It’s an approx. 10 minutes walk. The Science Museum is situated right next to the Hong Kong Museum of History. Alternatively, you can travel to the Tsim Sha Tsui station and take Exit E. There are several signs leading you the way.

Alternatively, you can travel to the Hung Hom MTR station and take Exit D1. Walk along Cheong Wan Road and then Science Museum Road. It will lead you directly to the Hong Kong Museum of History and Hong Kong Science Museum.

In case you are staying in the Wan Chai or Central area on Hong Kong Island, you can also hop on one of the Star Ferries. The Star Ferry Terminal in Tsim Sha Tsui is not too far away from the museum. Walking along the Tsim Sha Tsui waterfront promenade is one of the city’s highlight. Watch and enjoy how the city’s magnificent skyline enfold along Victoria Harbour.

Go Back to Top

More Museums in Hong Kong