921 Earthquake Museum of Taiwan — Attraction in Taichung

A well-designed museum that has preserved the collapsed and ruined structures of an old school, in order to showcase the full scale of the devastation of the 21 September 1991 Jiji earthquake. As we live in a country that is not prone to quakes, it was eye-opening to see first-hand how destructive earthquakes can be.

There are lots of signs in Chinese and English to teach you the basics of geology, geography, and earthquake science so it was an extremely educational visit. They also delve into how infrastructure is designed in Taiwan to withstand quakes, and I particularly liked that they had hand-based demonstration stations which are great for engaging kids in explanations.

One of the highlights was the earthquake simulation room. This is a separate ticketed-entry area (you have to buy an additional ticket in the museum) and simulations ran every 20 minutes. You step onto a metal platform that raises you up and it shakes violently (about 5 min), while they project 360-degree images and videos around you. I am not sure how realistic the experience is to a real quake, but the footage they showed captured the fear and panic the residents experienced.

If you are interested in learning about earthquakes or geology; or simply want to learn more about this 1991 disaster, this is a must-visit.

However, do be warned there is not much else to do in the area and you will probably have to use a taxi to get there and out as it is quite remote. We paid about 450 NT each way, to get from the museum to our hotel near Taichung station. There is not much traffic so we had to use Uber to call a cab out, though the ticketing desk staff were kind enough to offer to help us...

This place is very hard to get to if you come by public transportation. I recommend taking the taxi. When I travelled back out, I have to walk a distance before I reach to a bus stop, and taking a bus out to feng chia night market took me about 2 hrs!

The museum is really interesting as much of it is preserved naturally. Hence you could see the very impact of the earthquake. The place I came from (Singapore) does not have natural disaster and this tjis was an eye opener.

They have another room which allows you to “feel” how a magnitude about 7, feels like. The room will start vibrating and etc. We were exciting for this however, it turns out to be rather mundane.

The more interesting items there (in my opinion), is the education and lessons learn after the earthquake. They have experiments to show what kind of buildings could reduce the impact of earthquake. For instance, putting a damper thus reducing the swaying momentum of the building (this is applied to Taipei 101 building).

There are many experiments and those are really memorable, I highly suggest you to try it out!

Unfortunately this place seems pretty old and some of the displays are quite hard to decipher the words.

Given a chance, I will come once and I think that would be enough!

Ticket is needed to enter the museum, and it is very cheap! If I am not wrong, i purchase 2 tickets at...

Located on a collapsed school site some distance outside of the main city centre. We reached the place at around 1030 in the morning and spent around 3 hours. As with most attractions in Taiwan, entry tickets cost was negligible.

Started off with the zone which explains why, where and how earthquakes occur. A good recap of sec 3 geography: fault lines, fissures types, movement of tectonic plates etc.

Next was the site where one could take a look at the aftermath of the 921 earthquake. The wrecked running track with gaps of a metre or more provided a poignant reminder of the power of nature. Building on a collapsed school site also made it easier for the children to relate to as we passed through the site.

We then moved on to the engineering section where the children spent time constructing various structures and testing if they could withstand an earthquake. Has clear descriptions on how various engineering techniques to help withstand earthquakes.

There was also an earthquake experience show and a zone on earthquake safety tips. This was a novel concept for us as SGP is sheltered country with little exposure to natural disasters. The children spent a bit of time figuring the various actions to take to stay safe and what to pack in the emergency bag when an earthquake occurs.

Overall, a very informative exhibit but it’s...