after nearly a decade of discussing and planning, the new science museum is expected to be built in bao'an district.
the new shenzhen science museum will be constructed in the central part of the airport initiation zone in bao'an, covering a floor area of 120,000 square meters with an investment of 2 billion yuan (us$290 million), the southern metropolis daily reported, quoting shenzhen's development and reform commission.
with shenzhen waterlands resort to its north and the new shenzhen convention and exhibition center to its south, the new science museum also features convenient transportation facilities, as it is only about 8 kilometers from shenzhen international airport and has easy access to railways such as shenzhen-maoming railway, the intercity railway connecting shenzhen, guangzhou and dongguan, guangzhou-shenzhen riverside expressway and metro lines 20 and 12.
according to the construction plan, the new shenzhen science museum will have a total area of 105,000 square meters, 85,350 square meters on the ground and 19,600 underground. the whole museum will be divided into seven sections, including functioning science and technology exhibition and projection, innovation creation and communication, public service, business management and the science square, which is outside.
so far, the feasibility study report of the new museum has passed the prequalification process, and the construction of the museum will be pushed and accelerated once the other preliminary work is finished.
the establishment of the new science museum became a heated issue during the "two sessions" in shenzhen this year since the project was first raised about 10 years ago. a proposal was raised to suggest that the new museum be erected quickly and put into public use this year.
the old shenzhen science museum was built in the mid-1980s, covering a floor area of 8,000 square meters. however, it no longer manages to meet the demands of shenzhen's economic and social development in such aspects as design concept, functionality and scale, especially regarding its capability of promoting scientific knowledge towards a large population of teenagers.
to build shenzhen into a modern city of independent innovation, a large modernized and public-oriented science museum is needed. initially approved in june 2006, the new science museum encountered great obstacles when trying to choose a site, as floor area was cut down and management bodies were in flux over the past 10 years.
the design of the new science museum will take features of public places into consideration: high visitor flow, definite function sections, flexible exhibition arrangement, frequent exhibit updates, changeable visiting routes and division between active and quiet areas.
what's more, science museums at home and abroad are often situated in open areas in good locations, with low building density and spacious venues that are suitable for large exhibits.
also according to the proposal, the new science museum should be beneficial to the public and funded by government finance. take the hong kong science museum as an example, the museum is subsidized by the hong kong government. due to its public benefit purpose, the hong kong science museum doesn't need to make ends meet, and receives large sums of capital from the government for maintenance and the introduction of advanced exhibitions.
