Gwacheon National Science Museum — Attraction in Gwacheon-si

Price? Very cheap. Size? Very large. Exhibits? Plenty. Parking? Huge. Facilities? Clean. So, am I satisfied? Not quite... What exactly is the problem with this place? Compared to world-class science museums, it doesn’t fall behind in terms of scale, yet it somehow feels empty.

The first issue is that the exhibits are overly focused on a specific age group of young children. I came looking for "science," but what I found was closer to "educational activities." There are just flashy displays pretending to be scientific experiences, with visitors mindlessly operating them. As a result, 20-30% of them are broken.

The second issue is the lack of depth and inspiration in the exhibits. What are we supposed to feel from simply seeing a giant ground sloth, ancient rhinoceros, armadillo, and mammoth lined up on a white floor? Is "Wow, that's big" really enough? Are we supposed to find true science by sitting inside an A380 airplane cabin? Some exhibits are so unscientific. For example, how is the TV drama "Princess Hours" (Goong) considered science? Machines that claim to predict future careers based on face reading are not just pointless but potentially harmful to "future scientists."

The third issue is that the museum lacks a unique "Korean" identity. There's some English signage, but it's still lacking, making it less accessible for foreign visitors. But even beyond that, the representation of Korea is stuck in the past. While significant inventions like the rain gauge, water clocks, astronomical instruments, and early printing technology are worth noting, the exhibits fail to connect them to the present. It all feels like "educational activities" again. You know, the first rain gauge is important for children's education, but the current research by Korean scientists is not for them. The one meaningful attempt to highlight Korean science is a handwritten notebook by Prof. June Huh. Unfortunately, it's not related to his Fields Medal-winning work but rather to middle school-level math equations.

Lastly, the fourth issue is the underwhelming facilities, especially the restaurants and gift shops. Despite the museum's size, the dining options are disappointingly small. The food is bland and overpriced. Bringing your own lunch has become the unspoken rule. The snack bars are even worse—less impressive than many I've seen at other attractions. The gift shop is one of the least impressive I've visited in any museum. Are there any souvenirs actually made by this museum? It feels more like a random assortment of cute stuffed animals, some of which aren't even relevant to the exhibits.

I write this with a heavy heart because I am someone who truly loves science museums. I genuinely hope that one day I can proudly recommend this...

Well, the facilities for this place is really good. It has some games and interativ quizes to enterntain us. But the worst part aout this place is that first, the food is awful. I ate some fishcake with udon and the rish cake didnt even taste like it. The meat was completely using frozen one because it was stone colr in the inside. Secondly, I couldnt go watch the planetarium just because there wasnt enough people. They saie that they wont sell the tickets unless there is about 20 people! This is unbelievable! I came from japan to see this and what i got was "we dont sell tickets". Also the place where we buy ticket is hard to find since there isnt any big signs of where...

I was quite impressed with the size, variety, depth and wealth of all the scientific displays, demos, and hands on activities. The food court was also very good with tasty food and cleanliness. The staff was very friendly, courteous, and eager to assist. We spent about 4 hours here but was only able to see the exhibits in the main hall but still weren't able to see all of that either. If you want a full experience, allow yourself all day or perhaps a couple of days. There are other exhibits in separate buliding from the main hall we did not get to see. Hopefully we will return in the future to...