Shanghai Science & Technology Museum to be closed from March 31, 2023 for upgrade and renovation and reopened in 2025

Since its inception more than 20 years ago, the Shanghai Science & Technology Museum is about to usher in its largest systematic update. It was closed on March 31, 2023 for upgrade and renovation and scheduled to be reopened in 2025. Prior to the renovation, based on systematic planning and full investigation, the Shanghai Science & Technology Museum extensively solicited opinions from the society, experts, scholars, and the general public. Since 2018, it has successively completed the preliminary preparations for the project approval, design, and construction for upgrade and renovation.

On March 30, 2018, an experts' seminar for the project approval was held. 

The Shanghai Science & Technology Museum debuted as the main venue of the Asia-Pacific Economic Cooperation (APEC) conference on October 21, 2001, and officially opened to the public on December 18 of the same year. It is greatly favored by audience, especially young people. Over the past two decades, it has received more than 80 million domestic and foreign visitors. It has been rated as a national first-class museum, a national AAAAA-level tourist attraction, a national popular science education base, one of the first batch of national demonstration bases for the integration of culture and technology, one of the first batch of national research, education, and tourism demonstration bases, etc. It has been granted the titles of "National Civilized Unit" and "Shanghai Civilized Unit" several times and included into the list of the world's most popular 20 museums seven times. With the completion and opening of its two branches, the Shanghai Natural History Museum and the Shanghai Astronomy Museum, the "three-in-one" cluster development model of the Shanghai Science & Technology Museum was initially formed. The themes and contents displayed in the three venues need to supplement each other, and the display contents and forms of the science and technology themes also need to be upgraded and optimized to comprehensively enhance its innovation, attraction, and influence. 

With the vision of "joint innovation and intelligent iteration for building a world-class science and technology museum model", this upgrading and renovation is carried out to build a "more cutting-edge, smarter, greener, and more integrated" museum, focusing on the vivid interpretation of basic scientific principles and showcasing the latest achievements of cutting-edge science and technology. Shanghai Science & Technology Museum will continue to lead the high-quality development of science popularization in the new era, provide high-level science popularization products and services for the society, and keep improving the national science level. 

Presently there are 13 permanent exhibition galleries in the Shanghai Science & Technology Museum. Under the guideline of inheritance and innovation, the classic principle exhibition galleries such as "Lights of Wisdom" and "Lights of Exploration" will be retained with partial optimization; exhibition galleries such as "Human and Health", "Home Planet", Children’s Fantasyland", and "Biological Diversity" will be fully upgraded with their themes retained; exhibition galleries such as "World of Robots", "Information Era", "Space Navigation", "Cradle of Designers", and "Earthcrust Exploration" will be fully renovated with theme adjustments; the "World of Animals" and "World of Spiders" will be turned into public cultural spaces. 

Effect picture of "Human and Health" 

The renovation will involve artificial intelligence, robotics, quantum science, information technology, aviation technology, life and health, new energy, new materials, etc., and with comprehensive adoption of new technologies such as virtual reality, human-computer interaction, and data visualization, it will fully reflect the cross-border integration of technology, art, and humanities to comprehensively enhance the cutting-edge scientific contents and the audience's experience. 

Effect picture of "Flying Exploration" 

The Science Theaters, which are popular among the audience, will also be upgraded in the renovation. The IMAX Dome Theater and IMAX 3D Theater will be upgraded from traditional film projection to digital projection, and the viewing environment will be fully optimized. For the IWERKS 4D Theatre and Space Theatre, updates will also be carried out on the projection system, sound system, and special effects system. 

Effect picture of IMAX 3D Theater 

In addition, upgrade will be carried out in public service facilities such as the tourist service center, museum stores, and tourist restaurants, and comprehensive renovation will be carried out in roofs, screen walls, and electromechanical systems to create more comfortable, more environmentally friendly, and more intelligent experience for the audience. 

During its closing, the Shanghai Science & Technology Museum will continue to provide high-quality popular science education services to the public, and constantly update its "Cloud Livestreaming", "Cloud Lectures" and "Cloud Classroom" through all-media matrix consisting of its own website, WeChat, Douyin, Bilibili, etc. to release the latest technological information and events. At the same time, it will continue to integrate wonderful science popularization activities resources, and carry out science popularization temporary exhibitions, science popularization lectures, science-themed performances, and science courses in primary and secondary schools, public cultural places, and communities in the city. It will continue to give play to its platform advantages through online and offline linkages to maintain the popularity of the Shanghai Science & Technology Museum among the public. 

In the report of the 20th National Congress of the Communist Party of China, it emphasizes that "education, science and technology, and talents are the basic and strategic support for building a modern socialist country in an all-round way." General Secretary Xi Jinping pointed out during the third collective study of the Political Bureau of the CPC Central Committee in 2023 that it is necessary to strengthen the construction of national science popularization capabilities, greatly improve the scientific literacy of the general public, popularize scientific knowledge and demonstrate scientific and technological achievements through online and offline approaches, and guide the social trend of science enthusiasm and admiration. It is necessary to emphasize science education in the "double reduction" for students, stimulate teenagers' curiosity, imagination, and desire to explore, and cultivate those with the potential to become scientists who are willing to dedicate themselves to scientific research. The Shanghai Science & Technology Museum will continue to strengthen its capacity in science popularization, expand the achievements of science popularization to benefit the society, fully stimulate scientific and technological innovation, and contribute to high-level scientific and technological self-reliance, the cultivation of young people with "four self-confidences", and the construction of a science and technology innovation center in Shanghai. We look forward to the wonderful return of the Shanghai Science & Technology Museum after the upgrade!