LCQ4: Permanent exhibitions of the Hong Kong Science Museum
​Following is a question by the Hon ​Chan Chun-ying and a written reply by the Secretary for Culture, Sports and Tourism, Mr Kevin Yeung, in the Legislative Council today (November 13):
Question:
According to the pledge of the Hong Kong Science Museum (HKScM), the HKScM will provide at least 500 exhibits in-house at all times, of which 70 per cent will be interactive exhibits, and will keep at least 90 per cent of the interactive exhibits in working order. As pointed out in the Director of Audit's Report No. 75 (the Report) published in 2020, while permanent exhibitions at the HKScM were generally designed by the Leisure and Cultural Services Department to last for 10 to 15 years, as of September 2020, 10 of the 15 permanent exhibitions at the HKScM had been operating for more than 15 to 29 years. In its Minute issued in 2021 in response to the Report, the Government pledged to adopt enhancement measures, while advising that the HKScM had formulated a renewal plan and timetable to update the contents of various permanent exhibitions and replace ageing interactive exhibits. In this connection, will the Government inform this Council:
(1) of the implementation situation of the HKScM's pledge in the past three years;
(2) of the details of the renewal plan for various permanent exhibitions at the HKScM (including the quantity of exhibits, costs involved and works schedule), together with the implementation situation of the plan;
(3) whether the HKScM has put in place a regular refurbishment plan for permanent exhibitions to sustain their public appeal; if so, of the details; if not, the reasons for that; and
(4) of the attendance at the HKScM in each of the past three years, together with the ratio of local, Mainland and overseas visitors?
Reply:
President,
​Our reply to the questions raised by the Hon Chan Chun-ying is as follows:
(1) The Hong Kong Science Museum (HKScM) has been able to meet the performance pledges as stated in the question for the past three years. Details are tabulated as follows:
| Number of exhibits on average | Proportion of interactive exhibits | Proportion of interactive exhibits in working order | |
| Pledge | At least 500 | At least 70% | At least 90% |
| 2021-22 | 695 | 72.5% | 98.6% |
| 2022-23 | 620 | 75.6% | 98.9% |
| 2023-24 | 711 | 71.6% | 99.0% |
(2) and (3) The Leisure and Cultural Services Department (LCSD) has been renewing the permanent exhibitions at the HKScM at irregular intervals. The duration of exhibition mainly depends on factors such as its popularity, etc. There is no performance pledge for the duration of the exhibition but typically they will last for 10 to 15 years. The LCSD has formulated plans and timetables for renewing these permanent exhibitions. At present, four of the 15 permanent exhibitions at the HKScM have completed the renewal orderly. Details are as follows:
| Gallery | No. of exhibits (set/piece) |
Works period | Cost (HK$) |
| Biodiversity Gallery | 140 | 2014-16 | $10,000,000 |
| Children's Gallery | 31 | 2016-17 | $8,300,000 |
| Earth Science Gallery | 48 | 2018-21 | $20,000,000 |
| Palaeontology Gallery | 60 | 2020-23 | $20,000,000 |
For the rest of the 11 permanent exhibitions, nine will be renewed in 2025. Details are as follows:
| Gallery | Renewal plan | Estimated Cost (HK$) |
| Telecommunications Gallery | Will be transformed into the Innotech Gallery in 2025 | $40,000,000 |
| Transportation Hall | Will be transformed into the Smart Living Gallery in 2025 | $36,000,000 |
| Home Technology Hall | ||
| Food Science Hall | ||
| Electricity and Magnetism Gallery | Among the original 171 exhibits, 38 have been replaced. 15 new exhibits will be added in 2025 | $20,000,000 |
| Light | ||
| Motion | ||
| Sound | ||
| Mathematics |
The LCSD will plan to commence the renewal of the last two galleries (World of Mirrors and The Jockey Club Environmental Conservation Gallery) in 2026-27 subject to the availability of resources.
(4) From 2021-22 to 2023-24, the number of visitors to the HKScM were 1 074 769, 1 101 143 and 1 351 783 respectively. The attendance was affected by the COVID-19 pandemic, which caused intermittent temporary closure of the HKScM during the first two years. While the LCSD does not have a demographic breakdown of these attendance figures, according to its online survey conducted from October 2023 to September 2024, the percentages of local, Mainland and overseas visitors to the HKScM were around 72.5 per cent, 14.8 per cent and 12.7 per cent respectively.