See, Hear, Experience: How About Bringing Kids Here in May?

Tourism Gong Recommendation - A Journey to Discover Mysterious Scientific Principles in Family Month

[Asia Economy Reporter Yongjun Cho, travel specialist] With the complete lifting of COVID-19 social distancing measures, expectations for travel are growing. Especially in May, a month filled with family-related holidays such as Children's Day, Parents' Day, and Family Day. This year also marks the meaningful 100th anniversary of Children's Day. So, let's set off on a trip?destinations that are great to visit with children. It would be ideal if the place offers not only hands-on experiences but also plenty of sights to see. A place where you can easily and enjoyably encounter the principles of the world and the laws of nature. It is an exciting and mysterious world that includes everyday science embedded in our lives, as well as stories about geology, marine science, weather, and space. Coincidentally, the Korea Tourism Organization has also recommended 'Innovative Science Travel' as a must-visit theme for May. There are various places such as Uljin National Marine Science Museum, Seocheon Marine Biological Resources Center, and Goheung Naro Space Center Space Science Museum.

◇Hopeful Steps Toward Space, Goheung Naro Space Center Space Science Museum

Naro Island in Goheung is where the journey to space begins with the Naro Space Center. Although the Naro Space Center is generally difficult for the public to access, the Space Science Museum allows visitors to understand rockets and satellites and view a life-sized model of the Naro rocket. The first-floor permanent exhibition explains basic knowledge about space and the principles of rockets. The Naro Rocket Launch Control Center, where visitors can experience the entire launch process in a game format, is great for families to participate together. The second-floor permanent exhibition is a space for in-depth exploration of space. Videos sent from satellites are vividly displayed right before your eyes, and you can even operate a Mars exploration robot yourself.

Ssuk Island, facing Narodo Port, is just a 1-2 minute boat ride away. The flower garden cultivated by residents (Jeonnam’s first private garden) feels like a heavenly garden, mysterious and enchanting. The cypress forest on Bongrae Mountain on Narodo is perfect for forest bathing. Resting under the subtly fragrant cypress trees is as sweet as cotton candy. Neungga Temple, located on the slopes of Paryeong Mountain, leaves a lasting impression with its tranquil scenery of ancient trees and the clear sound of the wind chime.

◇The Start of a Lively Sea Exploration, Uljin National Marine Science Museum

In Uljin, there is the National Marine Science Museum where you can learn about the sea in a three-dimensional way and enjoy exciting hands-on experiences. It features an underwater observatory, Sea Greeting Trail 393, and Wave Sound Playground, making it popular among family travelers. This place combines knowledge delivery with play. In the exhibition hall about humanity’s challenge to the unknown sea, when you point a tablet at the suspended submarine Trieste, augmented reality (AR) videos appear, offering a unique experience. There is also a three-screen video theater that vividly shows marine science videos. The VR Adventure, which explores from Dokdo to Antarctica, will resume operation in mid-May. The highlight of the museum is the Sea Greeting Trail 393, which feels like walking on the sea, and the underwater observatory where you can see the sea vividly.

Near the museum is Jukbyeon Port, a great place to taste fresh seafood. The four-seater track vehicle running along the coastline over the sea, Jukbyeon Coastal Skyrail, is a rising tourist attraction these days. The Uljin Aquarium, where you can meet various marine creatures inhabiting the East Coast, concludes an exciting Uljin trip.

◇Learning Geologic Evolution Easily and Enjoyably, Taebaek Paleozoic Natural History Museum

Taebaek is an area where Paleozoic strata are distributed. Many trilobite fossils of various sizes and types have been discovered. Trilobites were dominant creatures in the Paleozoic seas, meaning this area was once underwater. The museum exhibits fascinating items such as trilobite fossils and models, a four-sided immersive video experience zone recreating the ancient sea, miniature dinosaur models, and Paleolithic human footprint fossils. You can ask the autonomous robot for exhibition explanations and facility guidance and take commemorative photos. Enjoy hands-on activities combining play and learning, such as augmented reality (AR) experiences, fossil rubbing, and assembling trilobite puzzles with magnets.

Near the museum is Gumeumso (Natural Monument), a geological formation with a large hole in a 20-30 meter high cliff and a deep pool beneath it. Water passing through Gumeumso flows southward to become the main stream of the Nakdong River. Hwangji, located in the city, is the river’s source. The country’s largest safety experience theme park, 365 Safe Town, is also close to the museum.

◇Not Boring but Fun, Daejeon National Science Museum and Nexperium

Daejeon, the city of science, has many spaces that present science in an interesting way. Among them, the top priority is the National Science Museum. It introduces science in general, from basic science to future scientific technologies, through various exhibitions and hands-on experiences that are easy for the general public to understand. It operates science experience spaces tailored to the age levels of preschool children to teenagers, making it popular with kids. Most facilities inside the museum are free, but the Creative Narae Hall, the Planetarium, and the Dream Atti Experience Hall operate with admission fees.

Opposite the National Science Museum, Nexperium, opened in 2021, is a science museum created in collaboration with KAIST. It offers opportunities to experience and learn about the latest scientific technologies related to robots, artificial intelligence, and space exploration.

There are several places near Nexperium worth visiting with children. Representative ones include the Geological Museum, which helps understand the current Earth through rocks, minerals, and fossils, and the Currency Museum, where you can see various currencies by era and type. The Daejeon Citizen Observatory in the city allows observation of the sun during the day and the moon, constellations, and nebulae at night.

◇An Exciting Encounter of Weather and Science, National Daegu Meteorological Science Museum

The National Daegu Meteorological Science Museum is a place where the exciting encounter of weather and science is realized. Observing, feeling, and experiencing the weather is fun here. The meteorological science museum is divided into three themed exhibition halls. The first exhibition hall, Meeting with Meteorology, features a unique EarthON model that observes global weather changes via satellite. You can feel the wind with a strong wind simulator and see old barometers and hygrometers. Weather experiences are fully conducted in the second exhibition hall, Science in Weather. You can lie on a cloud sofa and watch the seasonal changes in 3D, and create moving picture weather using models of clouds, the sun, and wind.

Leaving the meteorological science museum, you can walk along the Geumho River trail to Mangudang Park, which honors General Gwak Jae-woo. You can also visit Ayang Railroad Track, a citizen resting place transformed from the old Daegu railway bridge, the Happy Village mural alley, and the old Dongchon Station (a registered national cultural heritage) used as a small library. The Otgol Village, boasting a 400-year tradition, displays about 20 old houses and old walls with beautiful charm.

◇80% of Earth's Organisms Live in the Sea, Seocheon National Marine Biological Resources Center

The National Marine Biological Resources Center in Seocheon opened in 2015 with the goal of efficient conservation and national assetization of the infinite potential marine biological resources. It is equipped with research, investigation, and educational facilities, as well as the SeaQrium with over 7,500 specimens to satisfy curiosity about marine life. SeaQrium is the only marine biology specialized museum in Korea, named by combining the words Sea, Question, and Rium (space). The 4th-floor first exhibition hall is themed on marine biodiversity. This area, composed of zones for seaweed & plankton, invertebrates, fish, and mammals (on the 3rd floor), features must-see large fish skeleton specimens made using plastination and a real whale skeleton. The interactive media wall using multi-motion recognition technology that allows visitors to interact with marine creatures in a virtual aquarium is also fascinating.

Nearby, you must visit Janghang Skywalk, Janghang Urban Exploration Station?a complex cultural space remodeled from the old Janghang freight station?and the National Institute of Ecology, where you can observe and experience flora and fauna living in five major climate zones.

Yongjun Cho, travel specialist jun21@