Travel Gem #1: Make your own tornado and fight off aliens at Taipei’s Planetarium
Wanna make a tornado? Walk inside a diagram of the sun? How about check out what an astronaut toilet looks like or blast apart virtual asteroids? If any or all of these activities sound intriguing to you, you need to make room in your traveling calendars for the Taipei Astronomical Museum.
I originally chose to visit this astronomical museum with the intent of gathering data for my end-of-term research project. In order to graduate from the ICLP summer program, every student is required to compose a research paper on a topic of their choice and then present their findings in a 4-5 minute speech--all, of course, in Mandarin! Though arguably the most daunting part of the program’s coursework, it is irrefutably the most valuable. The project offers a golden opportunity for students to delve into specialized topics that relate to their major or desired career, which in turn builds the skill set to discuss and analyze them in sophisticated, proficient Chinese. As a business major with a passion for outer space, I decided to investigate Taiwan and Mainland China’s Aerospace industry. Now, thanks to my research project, I can talk about the costs and risks of rocket engineering whenever I please!
And might I just say, coming from the perspective of a total astronomy geek, that Taipei’s four floor planetarium is the grandest and most high-tech I have ever had the pleasure of visiting. Exhibits are not only abundant in hands-on activities such as making simulated black holes on a touch screen and observing different chemical lights through a spectrometer, but are also conveniently labeled with both English and Chinese captions that maximize the learning experience. The facility hosts a medley of 3-D Science documentaries and even a theme park ride where one can get an exclusive space pod “tour” of the solar system--complete with a bonus alien sighting ;) ! This site was my personal favorite, and regardless of whether it relates to your own research project, I bet it will also become one of yours if you give it a shot.