Weiran Li (Alex)
​李蔚然

Science is everywhere in our daily life but has always been explored by only a small proportion of people, called by others as "scientists". Being/becoming a scientist, I believe that it is our responsibility to share with the public the knowledge and the passion we have gained from doing scientific research.

 

The most important thing is not what we have achieved but what we are doing right now.

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Curation at the Stephen Hui Geological Museum at HKU

The Stephen Hui Geology Museum (SHGM) has been open to the public since January 2009 and is the first and only geological museum in Hong Kong. The mission of the SHGM is to provide an attractive object-based learning facility for understanding the nature and evolution of our planet to visitors of all ages and to inspire an appreciation of the dynamic natural world of Earth Sciences, its research and its application to daily life.

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I took up the position as the curator of the SHGM when I joined DES, HKU as an assistant professor in September 2022. At the beginning it was a challenge, as the museum was closed for a long time due to the pandemic and eventually re-opened in the summer of 2022. Since then we have welcomed more than ten thousands of visitors every year, with at least three times more visitors during the summer and winter holidays than usual. We have also arranged tens of tours per year for secondary school students and undergraduates from Hong Kong and Mainland China. 

 

In addition to our permanent collections of rocks, minerals and fossils on display, we curate 1-2 special exhibitions every year. In 2023 we held two special exhibitions on "The lifetime of a destructive caldera Volcano: Krakatau volcano, Indonesia" and "Earth treasures: exploring with collectors in Hong Kong". Exhibitions for 2024 are under preparation.

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The SHGM is open to the public (with free access) on weekdays between 1-6 pm (excluding public holidays). Come to visit and enjoy a Earth and Planetary science trip when you have time! 

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Check out more information from the museum website (a more lively version is coming soon):  www.earthsciences.hku.hk/shmuseum