Gab has always been (and still is) fascinated with Astronomy. So when we planned for our trip to Taiwan, we made sure to set a day to visit the Taipei Astronomical Museum.
Taipei Astronomical Museum was opened in 1996. Aside from the exhibition halls, it houses a dome theater, a 3d theater and an observatory.
The exhibit hall displays four topics, including our home planet – Earth, solar system, constellations and the size of the universe. The cosmic adventure is an indoor Disney riding system. It has a pod that takes 2-3 passengers to a 10-12 minute ride in a 200-m track. The 3D theater has a 7-m high special screen and takes audience to experience a 3-dimensional perception of entering into the films.
The dome theater, or the IMAX theater, has a diameter of 25 meters, designed with a 30-degree inclination angle, and can accommodate 304 seats. It is known as the largest dome theater in Southeast Asia.
Watching a show in the Dome
We watched Under the Arctic Skies. The show is in Chinese. The dome however has the top 3 rows of seats with headphones that provides English translations.
After the show. They project on the dome the stars you can view in Taiwan skies, under the ideal conditions – clear skies, no light pollution. They will teach you tips to easily location constellations, starting with Orion’s Belt moving to next close bright stars and so on. This part has no English translation but if you can recognize the stars, some famous asterisms, and the constellations, you will still understand.
The Observatory
The observatory is located on the roof of the Administration building, at the 5th level. They have a 20-cm Coude refractor used to view sunspots, the moon, planets, nebulae and star clusters. They also organize public viewing during special astronomical events to give the public a chance to observe rare phenomena. When we visited, they were preparing for the super blue blood moon viewing.
The museum staff communicates in very limited English language. I hope soon they will soon be more tourist-friendly and provide English guides especially to visiting kids.
Meilun Park
Meilun park is located just outside the museum. It includes a variety of activities to amuse kids, and is a nice space to relax. It has a park playground, which includes a big and little kid playset and see-saws, splash in the outdoor water area, the planets in the middle of the park and sound tubes in the physics area of the park
Taipei Astronomical Museum Operating Hours
The museum is open on Sunday to Friday: 8am to 5:30pm and 8 am to 5:30 pm to 9pm on Saturday. Museum is closed on Monday.
Taipei Astronomical Museum Fees
Exhibits Hall – 40 (Adult)/ 20 (Students)
Theaters (IMAX Theater & 3D Theater) and Cosmic Adventure – 70 (Adult)/ 35 (Students)
Theaters (IMAX Theater & 3D Theater) and Cosmic Adventure – 70 (Adult)/ 35 (Students)
Observatory – FreePre-schoolers, senior citizens, PWD with one accompanying person and Others (as announced by Taipei Astronomical Museum) can enter the museum for free.
* fees are in New Taiwan dollar (NT $, 1 New Taiwan Dollar is about 1.80 Philippine pesos)
How to get to Taipei Astronomical Museum
The museum can be easily reached by MRT. Just take the Red Line (Tamsui-Xinyi Line), Shilin Station and walk about 20 minutes.
Philippine nationals are now eligible to travel to Taiwan completely visa-free for 14 days. This visa-free initiative is on a 9-month trial period until July 31, 2018.
