************************************************************
What are the advantages and disadvantages of renewable and non-renewable energy? How do railways, ships, bridges and air transport influence the life of cities and the environment? From ancient communication by horses and pigeons to speedy exchanges via computers, fibre optics and Bluetooth, how do telecommunications affect people's lives?
The opening of the exhibition "Ideal Cities – Know More About Infrastructure" today (July 17) launched the territory-wide, annual, large-scale library event, Summer Reading Month 2010, at the Exhibition Gallery of the Hong Kong Central Library (HKCL). The exhibition aims to show children three important infrastructures of a city, so as to stimulate their interest in finding out more about this issue, develop their environmental awareness and broaden their horizons.
The Competition on Story Writing in Chinese for Students in 2010, jointly organised by the Hong Kong Public Libraries of the Leisure and Cultural Services Department and the Hong Kong Children's Arts Society, also held a prize presentation ceremony today. This year, the competition was well-received with more than 2,100 entries.
Officiating at the two ceremonies were the Assistant Director of the Leisure and Cultural Services (Libraries and Development), Mr Lee Yuk-man, and the Chairman of the Hong Kong Children's Arts Society, Mr Wong Tung-to. Winning stories were vividly re-told and adapted into drama performances at the ceremony. Author Mak Hiu-fan also shared his experience in reading with students.
To complement the theme of Expo 2010 Shanghai China, "Better City, Better Life", Summer Reading Month 2010 features a thematic exhibition introducing to children the basic infrastructure of a city. From today to August 17 at the HKCL and various libraries, there will also be a variety of fun and educational activities for the family, including instrumental music, choral concerts, dance, drama, magic shows, the "Top of Hong Kong" collage contest, audio-visual programmes, parent-child handicrafts and reading talks.
With various interesting models on energy, transportation and communications facilities, the "Ideal Cities – Know More About Infrastructure" exhibition consists of three zones.
Living in cities we enjoy modernity's conveniences, most of which are sustained by fossil fuels such as coal, petroleum, natural gas and nuclear energy. However, the mining and utilisation of these traditional fuels have damaged greatly the environment and human health.
In the Energy zone, renewable energy, produced by the sun, water, wind, living things and heat from Earth is compared with non-renewable energy to bring out the advantages and disadvantages of the resources we use. It also brings out the message that living in harmony with Mother Nature is also important to the healthy development of cities.
We have progressed from steam engines to high speed trains, from wooden boats to container ships, and different types of rail tracks and bridges, including the famous London Bridge. This leads us to wonder whether the space shuttle will become a popular means of transportation in the future?
In the Transportation zone, participants can trace the driving force behind a city's progress and prosperity by following the tracks made by various means of transport. The development of railways, big ships, bridges and airplanes has reduced distances between people. Yet these modern transportation systems are a huge source of greenhouse gas emissions. How to use transport to achieve economic and energy efficiency has become a priority on city planners' agendas.
The Telecommunication zone shows how ancient people used drums, beacons, horses and homing pigeons to communicate. It also shows the ways in which technologies such as radio transmission, satellites, fibre optics and Bluetooth have penetrated every corner of our lives. They have made communication easy but excessive use of the Internet and radiation pose a threat to cities and health. The power of information transmission and remote communications may also have a negative impact on interpersonal relations. Visitors to the zone will also discover that communicating by sign language may be more helpful than the Internet in closing the distance between people.
Families can also enjoy the variety shows and competitions held at the HKCL's Exhibition Gallery.
The Assistant Director of Chung Ying Theatre Company, Mr Ko Tin-lung, will share his reading and teaching experiences at the "Paired Reading Talk: Paired Reading and Liberal Education" for parents and child education workers from 2.30pm to 4pm on August 8 (Sunday). The talk, conducted in Cantonese, will be held at the Lecture Theatre of the HKCL.
Workshops on paper carving, handicrafts made of drink straws and ribbons, paper clay handicrafts, science experiments, storytelling and reading will also be held in various public libraries.
Admission to all the activities is free. For some programmes, admission tickets are required. Programme details and admission ticket information are in the booklet distributed at all public libraries. Enquiries can be made at 2921 2660 or 2921 2646, or visit the website: www.hkpl.gov.hk.
Ends/Saturday, July 17, 2010
Issued at HKT 17:01
NNNN