China unveils its first virtual science museum for children
Shanghai — China’s first virtual scientific museum is to open to the public in the city of Zhengzhou, its science and technology ministry announced on Wednesday.
The museum is the first of its kind in China, which has a population of nearly four billion people, and the ministry said it aims to create a virtual learning environment that will be available to all the country’s 1.4 billion people.
China’s National Science Museum, which opened in Beijing in 2007, was supposed to open in 2020.
But the government did not announce when it would reopen, and officials did not immediately respond to requests for comment.
The museum is a popular destination for Chinese parents to send their children to explore.
It is open only in the summer and fall.
The China Science and Technology Museum is set to open its first branch in Zhengzhou in 2019.
Its first two branches will open next year, the ministry’s statement said.
A virtual museum for adults, which will be the focus of the museum, will be opened in 2022, it said.
