Robots, models and gadgets

At the Science and Technology Museum, the kids especially enjoyed the futuristic, robotic automation displays, as well as a sort of permanent trade-show in the main foyer, where local businesses could demo their latest. There was a workshop on Scratch programming (which the kids bravely tried to participate in right up until the hands-on programming bit requiring some fairly advanced Chinese reading capabilities), a 3D virtual reality bazooka trainer, as well as several larger-scale interactive robots.

Two inspiring exhibits were the Rubik's cube solving robot (a more advanced version of Davy's Mindstorms creation, with fancy arms and hands) and another that played the piano. There is still a long way to go apparently, as the robot made loud clackety noises whenever it hit a key, and also did not seem able to do much that was technically demanding (no thumb cross-overs) or artistically expressive. The Robot village made for a sort of pre-Terminator-esque visit to a potential future reality.

The museum - and likely most official public buildings in major Chinese cities - also came equipped with safety equipment. Plenty of defibrillators and fire hydrants spread throughout, plus a micro fire station - which we gathered was actually for citizens (or museum visitors) to don fire-fighting equipment and jump into the fray - and of course the obligatory gas masks. Detailed instructions were provided on how to wear the mask for one's protection - however there clearly were not enough masks to service the anticipated visitor population.Read more