Handpicked experience · Macau
Macau, Macau
A cone you walk down rather than up, built by the architect of the Louvre pyramid, with a planetarium that opened as the sharpest of its kind in the world.
See amazing science exhibits
A learning experience for the whole family!
Kids will enjoy the interesting exhibits and learn more about science!
A dozen galleries built to be operated, not observed
A single descending route with no backtracking
Architecture by one of the twentieth century's best-known designers
A dome theatre with genuine technical pedigree
Entirely indoors and air-conditioned
A day ticket to the Macao Science Center on the waterfront, with a dozen hands-on galleries covering physics, astronomy, robotics and the sciences of daily life, inside one of the more unusual buildings in the territory.
Self-guided, indoors and air-conditioned, with almost everything designed to be operated rather than read. Families with school-age children can fill most of a day; adults moving briskly will take two or three hours.
The centre is a truncated cone, and the galleries are not stacked as floors. They run along a single spiral ramp that climbs the inside of the cone, so you take a lift to the top and then walk continuously downwards through the exhibitions, with the central void open beside you the whole way. There is no doubling back and no deciding which floor to do next — the building makes that decision for you.
The architect was I. M. Pei, whose work includes the glass pyramid at the Louvre and the Bank of China Tower in Hong Kong. He was born in Guangzhou and raised in Hong Kong and Shanghai, and returned to build here late in a career of about seventy years. The cone is characteristic of him: a simple geometric solid, a strong diagonal cut, and daylight used as a building material.
The dome alongside the main cone houses a planetarium that was recognised at its opening as the highest-resolution stereoscopic sky theatre in the world — three-dimensional astronomy projected onto the inside of a dome rather than a flat screen. It runs its own programme and is ticketed separately from the galleries.
The exhibits are built for handling: pedal-powered generators, mechanical puzzles, a robotics hall, weather and earth-science displays with things to move. Nothing is behind glass unless it has to be. The intended visitor is a curious ten-year-old, and the centre is honest about that, which is precisely why adults tend to enjoy it.
Alongside the permanent halls there is a temporary exhibition space, which changes several times a year and is usually where the newer material appears — recent science, current technology, and travelling shows from other institutions.
The planetarium is a separate ticket and its shows run to fixed times, so decide early if you want one and work the galleries around it. Everything is step-free by way of the ramp, and the whole visit is indoors, which makes this a reliable option in summer heat or heavy rain.
Open it to pick a date and work out the price.
What the fare covers, and what to budget for separately.
The practical detail, and the answers people actually ask for.
Two to three hours at a brisk pace; families with school-age children often stay most of a day, since nearly everything is meant to be operated.
Because the galleries run along one continuous spiral ramp climbing the inside of a cone. You go up by lift and then walk steadily down through the exhibitions without retracing your steps.
I. M. Pei, the architect of the Louvre pyramid and the Bank of China Tower. He was born in Guangzhou and built here late in a career spanning some seventy years.
At its opening it was recognised as the highest-resolution stereoscopic planetarium in the world — three-dimensional astronomy projected onto the inside of a dome. It is ticketed separately and runs to fixed show times.
It is aimed squarely at them. Pedal generators, mechanical puzzles, robotics and earth-science displays are all built for handling rather than viewing.
Yes — a temporary exhibition space changes several times a year and usually carries the most current material, including travelling shows from other institutions.
No. Dome shows are sold separately from general admission, so plan the timing if you want one.